OUTLANDER star Sam Heughan has hit out against Scotland's AI data centre boom, telling The National that it "cannot be allowed".
Heughan, alongside his acting career and distilling business, is a prominent campaigner, having worked with various environmental and wildlife charities through his charitable campaign the My Peak Challenge.
"It's a short sighted money-grab," he said when asked about a boom in applications to build AI data centres across Scotland. "Putting money in the pockets of large corporations and landowners and thinking nothing of the long-term effect to the countryside, water sources and communities that live there.
"These decisions are a huge mistake for Scotland.
"We have a country rich in resources and natural beauty. It’s sickening to think how ill-considered this decision is."
There are currently 24 sites where AI data centres are being proposed. Combined, they would more than double Scotland's peak energy demand. Backup generators, most of which would use gas or diesel, could cause sharp spike in carbon emissions, with one site alone predicted to become one of Scotland's top 10 polluters.
"Scotland has set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045," Heughan said, arguing that the goal "to reduce emissions through key areas like home heating, transport, and renewable energy" is not compatible with the data centre rollout.
"The science and research behind the proposals have been rushed through by large corporations, not taking into account any long term or localised consequences," he said.
In Larbert, outside Falkirk, hundreds of people have objected to plans to build a huge AI data which would be just 20 metres away from a care home and close to housing and a hospital.
"We must not allow outside corporations to exploit our green ambitions by proposing industrial-scale AI data centres beside residential homes, care homes and hospitals," Heughan said.
"Larbert and the whole of Scotland deserves better care for the nation. We can't allow big tech individuals or companies to profit while our communities are left to bear the generational consequences."
He added that "we MUST 'Say No To Scotland AI Data Centres'", a reference to the campaign groups attempting to rally against the proposals.
Many scenes across the first four seasons of Outlander were filmed at the Hunterston Estate in North Ayrshire, where a 500MW hyperscale data centre is now being proposed.
A three-day protest was held outside the grounds of the 900-year-old estate of Clan Hunter, which includes a castle thought to be the oldest still owned by the family that built it, with local campaigners urging the clan's members, who were visiting for an annual meeting, to "defend [their] castle".
Heughan, who played Jamie Fraser in the hit show, voiced his support for the local campaign, saying: "We were lucky to shoot in a multitude of locations, each a credit to Scotland and celebrating its natural beauty.
"Scotland attracts millions of visitors each year bringing in vast revenue, all drawn to the untouched and unspoilt landscape.
"The local communities are fighting to protect future generations, so that they will all be able to enjoy what Scotland has to offer whilst protecting public health from a multitude of proven and also as yet unknown illness, noise pollution, water pollution, toxic waste, increased utility costs and turning our beautiful nature spots into industrial wasteland."
Across Scotland concerns have been raised about the emissions of the sites, as well as the potential impact they could have on local life and ecology as waste heat is pushed out without the existence of heat pump networks, which the developers claim would alleviate the issue. Emerging research suggests the environment around data centres in the US can be heated by 2-4 degrees Celsius.
There are also concerns that the use of cooling fans and other industrial machinery will also produce a constant hum or whirring, disrupting life for local communities with additional fears for sites that are close to hospitals, schools or care homes, like the Larbert proposal.
The visual impact was also raised by Heughan, who, when asked what impact he believes the developments could have on the character or appeal of Scotland's natural landscape, said: "Of course it’ll affect tourism."
But he affirmed that he is "more concerned" about the potential health implications the data centres could bring, through air pollution and emissions, the potential use or emission of "forever chemicals", water pollution, and about the "destruction of natural landscape, all which is being sold for a comparatively small price".
"I'm shocked at the stupidity," he said.
The generation of toxic emissions has been highlighted in the Larbert environmental impact assessment (EIA) which stated there would be a "major adverse (significant)" impact on local greenhouse gas emissions, impacting air quality, with other sites that utilise generators also expected to emit large quantities of gases like nitrogen oxide which can have negative impacts on human and wildlife health.
A "major adverse" rating was also given for the impact its operation will have on the area's groundwater ecosystem.
Heughan told The National that if he could send a message to the First Minister and the Scottish Government, it would be a warning that "this is short-term gain for very few".
"Scotland will lose the very thing that attracts people to its land.
"We have so much to offer, we should be encouraging development and business that works with communities and enhances our natural resources, rather than sell them off for a short term fix with long-term detrimental affect."
To the campaigners, he urged they continue to make "as much noise as possible".
"The rest of the world hears you," he said.
