A data center development could be coming to East Ayrshire, Scotland.

First reported by the Cumnock Chronicle, battery storage firm Apatura has filed an application to develop a data center outside Cumnock, southwest Scotland.

Via Apatura DC Project 12 Ltd, the company is requesting an Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Opinion ahead of full planning permission. The company is seeking to develop on 24.5 hectares of land south of Creoch Farm in the village of Ochiltree. The site, just north of the former Killoch Colliery, is currently agricultural.

The final layout of the campus is described in documents as “flexible,” with Apatura suggesting the site will comprise one or more one-to-two-story buildings, offering 200MW IT load, with a total footprint of circa 45,000 sqm (484,375 sq ft). The site will include a roof-mounted solar system.

As well as a new on-site substation, the scheme will connect to the Killoch Substation via an underground cable, located less than half a kilometer southeast of the site. Construction is expected to take around three years.

An end user for the site has not been named.

Founded in 2014, Apatura describes itself in the application as a leader in energy infrastructure development, with a 10.6GW portfolio of grid-secured energy projects, including 1.8GW of grid connections targeting data center developments. Few details are available about the company’s other data center developments.

“Apatura is uniquely positioned to support the expansion of hyperscale digital infrastructure. By leveraging their extensive experience, strategic partnerships, and deep market knowledge, Apatura are well-positioned to support Scotland’s ambition to become a premier destination for data center investment,” the company said.

On its website, privately owned Apatura said it specializes in the land acquisition, design, planning, and operation of large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Michael Hunter, previously on Google’s infrastructure strategy and acquisition team, joined the company at the turn of the year to lead Apatura’s data center efforts.

An application for a 200MW BESS on the site had previously been filed. Multiple other battery developments have been proposed around East Ayrshire.

Apatura has other BESS projects planned in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire; East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire; Eaglesham and Neilston, East Renfrewshire; Denny, Falkirk; Devonside, Clackmannanshire; and Port Glasgow, Inverclyde.

East Ayrshire has little in the way of existing data center infrastructure. A 2014 planning application sought to develop a 10,000 sqm (107,639 sq ft) facility alongside up to eight 100m-tall wind turbines, but it seems this project never came to fruition.

Despite having ample renewable power available, Scotland has a minimal data center market. In December of 2021, Oracle closed the Sun Microsystems data center in Linlithgow. DataVita has opened a new data center in Glasgow in its parent company’s office development, as well as expanding its Fortis data center in August 2022. Asanti & Atos, Pulsant, IOmart, CenterServ, and Lumen operate small facilities across the country.

The Scottish government has previously run campaigns outlining the country as a potential data center destination, identifying multiple potential development sites that can be made available.