A local community group has hit out at plans for a huge 600MW data centre that would reportedly be larger than the village it neighbours.
Earlier this week the company ILI lodged its application for a new data centre with Fife Council. It becomes just the second AI data centre in Scotland to reach this stage of the planning process, alongside the rejected 213MW site in South Gyle, Edinburgh.
The proposed site near Auchtertool is being "vigorously" opposed by a local community group and the public will have three to four weeks to comment on or object to the proposal before a decision is made on its future.
Andrea Cail, chair of Auchtertool Community Council said: “As a Community Council we are dismayed and will vigorously oppose the proposal to site a 600 MW hyper scale data centre right on the edge of our small village in Auchtertool.
"The buildings and other developments take up land more extensive than the village itself.
“The application is extremely vague details about the vast amounts of energy and water that will actually be required, and what level of noise and heat loss to the surroundings there will be.”
Commenting, ILI Group have said the environmental conservation will form a key part of the development.
An ILI spokesperson said that the company "is a clean energy developer first and foremost."
"Our projects are designed to reduce carbon emissions over their operational lifetimes, and the Cato project is designed to maximise its use of renewable electricity.
"This is a responsibly sited project with the potential to deliver significant long-term benefits both locally and nationally.
"We have been in dialogue with the Community Council for over a year and would welcome their continued engagement as the planning process progresses."
While research into the impacts of AI data centres on the environment is still relatively sparse, initial findings have suggested areas close to developments that use fan-cooling methods can face artificial warming, impacting local climates and everyday life.
There are also concerns over the carbon emissions from data centres, particularly if they use gas to power 24/7 backup generators, which most sites would require due to fluctuations in renewable supply.
The Edinburgh South Gyle centre also faced backlash over its projected carbon output, which was calculated to be more than 200,000 tonnes per year, according to developers Shelborne Drummond, a total equivalent to a second Edinburgh Airport.
Further concerns have been raised about the land being used, with the proposed site overlapping with a wildlife reserve and the ruins of the historic Hallyards/Camilla Castle, which dates back to the 16th century.
Cail added: “Our local wildlife reserve Auchtertool Linn Wildlife Site is within the site and apparently won't be built on, but we are concerned about future access, and the data centre buildings are planned to be built over a ruined castle.
“This will be a giant blot on our rural landscape, right next to the village, with six buildings at 35m high. This is an application with no end user identified and the statement of intent shows the proposal could be changed and modified once an end user is found, which is really concerning.
“As a country we do not appear to have identified how many hyper scale data centres we need (or can service with energy and water) and this is one of three this developer is planning across the central belt."
The developers have however insisted that the land within the wildlife reserve will remain undeveloped.
"The vast majority of the site, including the Auchtertool Linn Wildlife Site, will remain undeveloped and will in fact be enhanced," an ILI spokesperson said.
"We are creating new wetland, woodland and wildflower meadow habitats over most of the site to maximise biodiversity gains, much of which has been included specifically because of direct consultation with the community."
Commenting on the water usage concerns, the developers have said the closure of the Mossmorran Ethelyn plant means there is a surplus in supply for water in Fife.
"We understand why a project of this scale prompts questions from local residents, which is why our planning application sets out clear commitments around energy and water efficiency.
"In terms of water use, for example, the development is expected to use an amount of water annually equivalent to only a few hundred homes. Scottish Water was consulted prior to the application being submitted and confirmed there was existing capacity for the project, and this was before the closure of Mossmorran was taken into account.
"The Mossmorran plant was itself a major industrial user of water locally. Its closure means there is now additional headroom beyond what had previously been assessed.
"We are also funding apprenticeships and training opportunities for ex-Mossmorran employees and would encourage anyone interested to get in touch with us directly.
"Fife has an exceptional pool of highly skilled and experienced workers who could find a range of opportunities within the Cato campus."
There are now around 25 data centre projects across Scotland when taking pre-application plans into account, collectively producing a projected energy demand of more than 6.2GW, although it is unlikely that all projects will be approved or completed.
Scotland’s peak energy demand has been registered as just over 4GW according to the National Energy System Operator (Neso).
The developers have said that the energy demand will help to avoid curtailment charges on energy producers.
A spokesperson said: "It may seem counterintuitive, but locating large and stable demand in Scotland will have a net-positive effect by reducing energy wastage and lowering system costs.
"The current situation means we are paying wind farms billions of pounds in curtailment payments to stop generating green electricity. That is a challenge ILI has been working to address for nearly a decade, and we have already made a considerable impact."
Commenting ahead of an upcoming Holyrood debate on the future of Scotland's energy, Dr Kat Jones, director of environmental group Action to Protect Rural Scotland, urged the Scottish Government to implement tighter regulations on data centres.
Jones said “If these data centres get built it certainly won't be Scotland’s Energy, it will be Silicon Valley’s energy, and Scotland risks sky-rocketing energy prices and energy blackouts if we continue without a proper policy in place.
“The Scottish Government need to get a grip on the situation and put some proper policy in place around energy use and impacts of hyperscale AI data centres.”
She added: “This is an inconceivable amount of energy that Scotland is being asked to divert to the use of hyperscale AI data centres, which will enrich a few billionaires in Silicon valley at the expense of the Scottish consumer.
"Data centres famously employ very few people. Our report on jobs and data centres showed they typically employ 20-50 staff while using vast amounts of energy
“Energy prices for domestic users have soared where hyperscale data centres are built and there is a huge risk that this will happen in Scotland because energy infrastructure spend is spread across all bill payers.
“No discussion on energy in Scotland can ignore the impact that these data centres would have on our electricity grid and energy prices.”
