Scotland’s parliament is this week set to vote on a moratorium on new hyperscale data centers.

The Scottish Green Party has vowed to use its opposition debate at Holyrood on Wednesday to force a vote on banning new data center proposals using more than 50MW of power.

Earlier this year, the Green Party announced its backing for a moratorium amid what it describes as a “huge wave of speculative proposals across Scotland.”

It wants all large projects paused until Scotland can develop a national strategy for data centers, with clear criteria for approving planning applications.

Scotland has seen a number of new data centers proposed in the last two years. The Green Party claims that if 24 of the planned projects were approved, they would use 1.5 times the peak electricity currently consumed across the whole country.

Proposals for a moratorium have been backed by the national council of the Scottish National Party (SNP), the largest party in the Scottish government, as well as individual MSPs. But the Greens say action from the SNP has so far been “minimal”.

Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “We will be forcing the Scottish government to make a very simple choice. Will they put a pause on the rush to build hyperscale data centers, or will they continue to allow speculative applications to keep piling up with no national strategy in place?

“If ministers believe Scotland should continue accepting hyperscale data centers on this scale, they should say so. If they recognise that we need a national plan before these projects are allowed to reshape our energy system and our communities, they should back our motion.”

As part of its motion, the Green Party wants to see a definition of what constitutes a “green data center,” taking into account the environmental impact of new projects.

Harvie added: “The Scottish government has had plenty of time to act and till now has chosen not to. Telling councils to notify ministers when an application arrives is not a strategy, and it does nothing to stop these developments. Very basic questions such as what defines a ‘green’ data centre have been left unanswered for far too long.”

DCD has contacted the SNP for comment.

The Green Party’s stance on data centers extends to the whole UK, with leader Zack Polansk calling for a national moratorium, citing concerns over power and water usage.

However, Prime Minister Andy Burnham told parliament last week that his government would not be banning data centers. The UK’s current Labour government has been encouraging data center developments as a vehicle for economic growth since it took office in 2024.