MSPs reject Scottish Green bid to halt the construction of new AI data centres

MSPs have voted down a motion brought forward by the Scottish Greens to halt the construction of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in Scotland.   

MSPs instead backed an amendment put forward by public finance minister Hannah Mary Goodlad that says data centres will "only be approved where they have met robust environmental impact assessments" which will take account of any impact on the amenity of any neighbouring communities.

MSPs also backed a second amendment from Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson that called on the Scottish Government to report on the development of national planning guidance by the end of the year and to publish this guidance in full within 12 months, with no decisions made until this has been completed.  

The amended motion passed with 80 MSPs voting yes, 26 voting no and 15 abstaining. 

Introducing the original motion, Patrick Harvie MSP called on parliament to "press pause" on data centre development to ensure that the Scottish Government has the time to create a strategy and "put Scotland's interests ahead of the big tech giants".   

In response, Goodland said that a moratorium was “not necessary” and would “send the wrong message to anyone looking to invest in Scotland”.  

Speaking as a backbench MSP, Stuart McMillan, the SNP convener of the Climate Action Committee, said that while the economy could benefit from the growth in AI data centres, it does not come without challenges, calling for "careful scrutiny" of the volume of data centre applications submitted across Scotland and that "public benefits must be secured and the voices of affected communities must be at the heart of decision-making".  

Earlier in the day, the Scottish Government announced that all new applications for "large data centres" will require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be submitted during planning.    

Writing in a letter announcing the change, the Scottish Government's chief planner, Fiona Simpson, said that large-scale data centres have the potential to introduce a “significant industrial presence into the landscape” and outlined additional potential impacts to "biodiversity, soils, water resources, noise, and potentially for air quality where back-up generators are used".  

Closing the debate, Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said the Scottish Government is “painfully behind” and has been “overtaken by events and dozens of speculative applications for data centres where no guidance is in place”.