‘GREEN” data centres in a Lanarkshire AI growth zone could run diesel generators in hot weather to meet higher power demand.
Our investigation found the developer could be understating the impact of operating backup engines, prompting concerns over fumes exposure at nearby homes.
DataVita is seeking approval to use backup generators for non-emergency use at its proposed 120-megawatt facility in Chapelhall, North Lanarkshire. The generators would expand the site’s power capacity when peak customer demand coincided with air temperatures above 21C. Up to 32 of the total 48 generators could start operating in “load support mode” to help cool computing equipment, planning documents show.
Jen Thompson, who lives 50m from the proposed site, said the potential air pollution and noise were a “massive worry” for her four children who spend time outdoors. She fears generators operating on summer days could expose local children to harmful emissions when they are playing outside or when households have their windows open.
The project, DV4, is the first Scottish hyperscale data centre proposing to cover its peak power needs with emergency generators, said Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), which tracks Scottish data centre projects.
The charity, along with community and campaign groups, is concerned that the additional generator use could put local residents at risk and has urged the Scottish Government to consider the issue in its forthcoming data centre strategy. Scottish Greens called for a definition of a “green data centre” that should “exclude the use of polluting diesel generators”.
The developer said an in-depth planning application will follow and is launching an online platform for public questions to “support greater transparency and debate”. DataVita said it welcomed scrutiny, but that “constructive discussion gets harder when the playbook being used against data centres starts from a narrative and then cherry-picks facts to support it”.
SAFETY SHORTCUTS AT SMALLER SITE RAISE FEARS
TWO smaller projects, DV1 and DV3, are also planning to use load support during peak time. Both were approved earlier this year, with construction under way.
DataVita forecasts load support use of no more than 80 hours a year and insists the facilities would be “always powered from the grid in normal operation”. Data centres would use hydrotreated vegetable oil, a diesel alternative. The air quality assessment assumes generators at all three sites would be fitted with emission-reduction equipment, and suggests any deterioration of air quality at nearby homes in the event of a blackout – though none are known to have occurred – would be highly unlikely.
However, a separate generator permit documentation reveals DataVita intends to install pollution control on just half of the engines at the DV1 site, with upgrades expected in the next three years “once additional capital expenditure is approved”. Installing emission-reducing gear on only six out of 12 generators would not breach current air quality limits during emergency operation, according to the developer’s assessment for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), which authorises standby generators.
Questions are now raised about what nearby residents could be exposed to at the larger DV4 site. Jen said she was “really shocked” to learn DataVita may be “saving money by doing less to stop the generator fumes at the DV1 site” and worried it might attempt the same at DV4.
APRS’s Dr Kat Jones called reducing protective measures against generator pollution at the smaller site a “cynical move”. She said: “DataVita receives significant support from the public purse from both UK and Scottish governments. They should be required to have the best possible scrubbers on all their diesel generator flues to protect human health.”
DataVita received a £300m loan to extend DV1 and build DV3. Lenders include the Scottish National Investment Bank and financing is partly guaranteed by the UK Government’s National Wealth Fund. Lanarkshire AI growth zone is also entitled to electricity cost discounts.
Review of DataVita’s pollution assessment report by an air quality consultant further suggests DataVita’s predictions for nitrogen dioxide emissions during power outages could have been significantly underestimated. The expert reviewed the study on condition of anonymity because of their work in the industry.
The pollution control on generators – selective catalytic reduction (SCR) – can take 10 minutes or more to start lowering emissions and is ineffective in short-term routine engine tests, specifically at the proposed lower loads, the consultant said. “The systems take time to warm up to reach their peak efficiency, just like your car,” they added, and warned the assessment did not take this into account.
CALLS FOR CLARITY AND TRANSPARENCY
DIANE Davidson, from Woodhall, Faskine and Palacecraig conservation group, said the community needed transparency about load support operation: “Residents need to know what that means for their air quality and health.”
Sepa opened a public consultation for generator use at DV1, inviting comments until October 14. DataVita is seeking an emergency-only operation permit and may add load support through future requests. Sepa said environmental requirements for generator use during normal or peak demand can differ from emergency use and would assess the impacts accordingly.
Kim Pratt, senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said DV4 has been allowed to progress “without meaningful consideration of the impacts on people and nature”, while Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said AI data centre developers “must set out clearly what environmental impact these sites are going to have”.
Mackay added: “It is particularly concerning that the levels of pollution could be underestimated, and DataVita should provide clarity on that. This is a prime example of why robust environmental checks must be put in place by the Scottish Government for any AI hyperscale data centre.”
DataVita said: “Scotland is making decisions about data centres and AI that will shape its economy for a generation. Those decisions deserve a far better quality of debate than they’re currently getting.”
The developer indicated planning documents contained technical assumptions and said its air quality impact assessment states what it covers in plain terms and was available for anyone to inspect. It said a detailed appraisal will follow, along with an in-depth planning application.
The cfirm announced it will launch a fact-checking website to verify claims about its projects, publish media responses in full and invite public engagement. It said: “People living near our sites have every right to ask questions and to have them answered directly.”
DataVita invited APRS and the Scottish Greens, prominent critics of AI data centres developments, to visit existing facilities and discuss plans. It’s now extending the invitation to all political parties.
Hyperscale projects will be shaped by a new national strategy and have been paused until the guidance is published, for up to a year. Under a new national direction, DV4 will also be required to submit a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) before planning can proceed.
The Scottish Government said its EIA rule for developments above 50 megawatts will “ensure large data centre applications will face more stringent environmental requirements”. It recognises evidence of their environmental impact “continues to develop”.
DataVita committed to deliver up to £543m in community benefits over 15 years. The full capacity of the DV1 and DV3 has been leased to CoreWeave, a US AI cloud computing provider, under a 15-year agreement. AI growth zone is a UK-Government designation for projects able to secure 500 megawatts of power or more by 2030.
