Ministers in Scotland have backed a defacto but temporary moratorium on hyperscale data centers, vowing to not approve any new schemes until new planning guidelines are finalized.

The Scottish Green Party used its opposition debate in the Scottish Parliament today to call for a moratorium on data centers exceeding 50MW, citing the “huge wave of speculative proposals across Scotland.” Like many countries, Scotland has seen a host of new data centers proposed to cater for anticipated demand for AI services, with many communities raising concerns about data center power and water usage, as well as other environmental risks.

Though Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) from the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish Labour, and the Scottish Conservatives, declined to back the Green moratorium motion, two amendments to the text, proposed by the SNP and Labour, were passed by the parliament.

It says that planning decisions on new data centers over 50MW will not be taken until planning rules have been updated to clarify which data centers will be approved, and what the criteria is for a project to move forward.

SNP minister Hannah Mary Goodlad said full guidance would be published by the end of the year,

“We do not agree that there should be a moratorium,” she said. “That is not necessary, it’s not appropriate, and it would send the wrong message to anyone looking to invest in Scotland.

“We cannot prevent planning applications from being lodged, nor should we. And applications have a right to receive a timely decision.”

She added: “Rigorous scrutiny of a proposed development by capable planning professionals, backed up by environmental assessment, is more appropriate than a blanket suspension of all developments, regardless of their needs.”

The Labour motion, which was approved by MSPs, “calls on the Scottish government to report back to parliament on the development of national planning guidance by the end of the current calendar year and to publish this guidance in full within 12 months, and believes that no decisions on planning or consenting in relation to such applications should be made until this has been completed.”

Earlier in the day, the government had announced legislation that will compel any developer wishing to build a hyperscale data center in Scotland to carry out a full environmental impact assessment.

A step forward for Scotland?

Dr. Kat Jones, director of campaign group Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), described the vote as “a landmark day for all those communities across Scotland who have been extremely concerned about projects coming forward in their areas.”

She said: “There’s much still to be done but this is a huge step forward and we can all at least take a breath now.

“The Scottish Greens have been working tirelessly to see a pause in planning decisions until there is a proper national strategy in place, and Scottish Labour have played a huge role today in getting this over the line.”

Dr. Jones added: “It’s great that Scottish ministers and the parliament as a whole have now endorsed text that says no decisions on planning or consenting should be made until that guidance and strategy is complete. That means Scottish government must now urgently call in those applications which are approaching a decision date. The communities will expect nothing less.

“We will keep working with the communities, and with MSPs across the parties, to make sure ministers do the best possible job and remove this terrible cloud of uncertainty that has been hanging over dozens of communities across Scotland.”

But Kim Pratt, senior circular economy campaigner with Friends of the Earth Scotland, told The National: “Politicians have chosen to support data centre plans, fuelled by the greed of big tech, rather than to protect the people of Scotland. Thousands of people across Scotland have spoken out against the rapid rise of data centres which pollute communities, add to climate breakdown and use up resources needed for the energy transition.

Pratt noted that: “In today’s debate, the planning minister suggested that no data centres will be approved before Christmas. However, decisions in Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde and Fife, where decisions are expected in a matter of weeks, desperately need clarity on that now. Only a moratorium on all hyperscale data centres until proper social and environmental safeguards are in place can protect people and nature from their impacts.”

Come and talk to us, Scottish data center operator tells opponents

Prior to the vote taking place, Scottish data center firm DataVita, which is developing an AI campus in the North Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, had published an open letter to opponents, inviting them to engage in talks about Scotland’s digital infrastructure build-out.

The company extended an invitation to Ross Greer MSP, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, and APRS’s Dr Jones, to visit its campus at Chapelhall, North Lanarkshire.

Danny Quinn, managing director of DataVita, said: “DataVita fully supports an open public debate about the right kind of controls to have in place for AI and, where necessary, government action to protect our economy, society and environment. But the importance of the decisions we make about AI for Scotland’s future economy cannot be overstated. We need to move beyond a debate in which one side has to be entirely right and the other entirely wrong.

“Where opinions differ, open and honest dialogue is the best way forward. A visit gives us the opportunity to show how our facilities operate and have a detailed conversation about our plans. We can explain the choices behind their design, hear the questions people have and discuss them directly.

“Data centers differ in what they do and how they are designed and operated. We would welcome the chance to explain how those differences apply to our facilities and proposals and we are making these invitations public because the developments are of public interest.”