AN SNP minister has claimed there are “renewable upside benefits” to data centres despite the Scottish Government intervening in several proposed projects due to fears over their environmental impact.
Public finance minister Hannah Mary Goodlad has said a new Scottish Government policy on data centres marks a “real departure” of change, but has also defended fears of the facilities strain on natural resources as an “opportunity”.
Changes announced earlier this week mean the Scottish Government has to be notified about applications to build data centres above a 50 megawatt capacity.
Environmental impact assessments are now required on data centres proposed for Auchtertool in Fife and Wester Hermiston in Edinburgh – with an application for another facility in Redheughs Avenue in Edinburgh now recalled, and will be decided by Holyrood ministers.
Campaigners welcomed the move, describing it as “common sense prevailing at last”, but the Scottish Greens have warned the policy change does not go far enough and a full moratorium should be put in place.
With proposals for 20 data centres currently going through the planning process, campaigners have raised concerns about energy and water use.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast programme on Wednesday, Goodlad appeared to defend the use of natural resources, saying water used at data centres could be used to heat homes.
“When it comes to data centres there is a few considerations to be making in the round, there’s water use… there’s also the energy use as well,” she told the show’s hosts.
“But there is also opportunity when it comes to renewable energy. These data centres are going to be generating a lot of heat, that’s why you need a water system to cool it down.
“This waste heat could potentially give us an opportunity to tap into this, if we strategically think about where these data centres are located, to be creating district heating schemes.
“I think we have to look at the renewable upside benefits that data centres also could be providing.”
Goodlad went on to say that not all the proposed data centres are likely to go ahead.
She added: “Whenever there is new projects or a new type of industry being developed, you originate many, many projects, then perhaps only 10% to 15% go through, that’s the case for oil and gas, that’s the case for offshore wind, that’s the case for onshore wind.
“We’re in the development stage right now for data centres, so there is many applications and many in the pipeline. What actually gets built is less than that.”
Goodlad said the consideration is “which are the better ones for Scotland”, saying issues such as location, suitability for possible district heating schemes and any community wealth building prospects would be looked at.
But she insisted the new policy is “a real departure” for the Government “in terms of stepping away from giving local authorities total oversight and decision making power”.
The minister said the change had been made “because we see there is a wide public debate on this”.
Goodlad added: “There is wide opportunity to be harnessed from this, and at the same time we hear there is growing concerns.
“We as a Government are taking the first step on wrapping our arms around this, making sure we have strategic monitoring of the whole system and the implications of that.”
Earlier this month, officials ruled that a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA is required for an AI data centre in South Gyle, also in Edinburgh.
It comes after growing pressure on the Scottish Government to intervene over the number of planning applications for AI data centres across Scotland.
Campaigners have fiercely opposed the plans and raised concerns over the centres’ impact on the environment, including extremely high electricity and water usage.
Scottish Greens climate spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP welcomed the Scottish Government’s policy change earlier this week but added that it “falls far short of the pause Scotland urgently needs”.
He said: “While it is welcome that ministers have finally listened to the Scottish Greens and others, and have recognised the need for greater scrutiny, monitoring the pipeline of applications is not the same as managing it.
“Until the impact on our energy grid, water supplies, climate targets and communities has been properly assessed and councils have clear guidance, there must be a pause on all applications.
“We cannot allow a rush of speculative developments to be approved one by one without understanding the impact on our climate, infrastructure and communities.”
