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ClimateQuiet 8d · day 8

Scotland requires environmental assessments for large datacentres ahead of moratorium vote

Holyrood tightens planning rules for datacentres above 50MW just before a vote on an outright moratorium demanded by campaigners.

newest coverage 7d agosummary written 7d ago6 pieces67 likes & upvotes1 comments NewswiresMastodonBluesky

What to know

  • Scotland will require environmental impact assessments for any datacentre project above 50MW before planning approval, but has not imposed an outright ban.
  • The rule change was announced hours ahead of a Holyrood vote on a Scottish Greens motion calling for a full moratorium on new hyperscale datacentres.
  • Campaigners argue the assessment requirement alone is insufficient, citing the huge energy demand of pending applications, such as the Auchtertool, Fife scheme billed as the world's second-largest datacentre.
  • The debate unfolds alongside separate warnings about AI safety, with industry leaders due to meet King Charles at a summit on the technology's future on Thursday.

“We must balance the economic and employment interests in developing datacentres with national energy, climate and community wealth-building ambitions, which are vital to our future prosperity, as well as the potential impact on local communities.”

Hannah Mary Goodlad, Scottish public finance minister · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 15

Hannah Mary GoodladHannah Mary Goodlad Scottish public finance ministerKat Jones Director, Action to Protect Rural ScotlandScottish Greens Political partyScottish Government Devolved government

Scotland requires environmental assessments for large datacentres ahead of moratorium vote
Guardian

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Sep 16, 6 AM; 6 pieces over 8 days (4 articles · 2 posts) Sep 15, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 12 AM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Sep 16, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 12 PM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — quietSep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quiet 1–3
Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22now · 3:43 AM ET
  1. 3

    Observer notes new rules also add a renewable-energy requirement

    A social media post about the announcement highlighted that the new rules require renewable energy provision in addition to environmental impact assessments.

    “now require renewable energy too…”
    — @glynmoody@mastodon.social
    • samillingworth.com

      🛑 Scotland pauses new AI datacentres New Scottish AI datacentres face a year's wait as planners bring in environmental assessments communities had been demanding. 🔗 theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/16/datacentres-scotland-environmental-assessments-ai-boom #AI #Scotland #Datacentres

      samillingworth.comBluesky6d ago20▲view on Bluesky ↗
  2. background

    Holyrood votes on the Greens' datacentre moratorium motion — The Scottish parliament was scheduled to vote on the Greens' motion for an outright moratorium on new hyperscale datacentres the same day the government announced its assessment requirement.

  3. 1

    Campaign group calls the move a 'no-brainer' but insufficient

    Kat Jones of Action to Protect Rural Scotland welcomed the mandatory assessments as long overdue but said only a moratorium would allow proper planning guidance and capacity assessment to be completed.

    “This is extremely good news and something that we have been asking for since the start of our campaign, but without a moratorium, the other essential work can't be done. A pause on planning decisions is absolutely essential.”
    — Kat Jones, Action to Protect Rural Scotland
  4. 2

    Scottish government mandates environmental assessments for large datacentres

    Ahead of the Holyrood vote, the government announced that any datacentre project above 50MW must submit an environmental impact assessment in the planning process, stopping short of an outright halt.

    “Ensuring that an environmental impact assessment is always part of the application process will create a level playing field for developers, and will ensure potentially significant environmental effects are considered from the outset.”
    — Hannah Mary Goodlad, Scottish public finance minister
    1. 2 outlets Scotland imposes mandatory environmental assessments on new datacentres

      first by Mastodon, 7d ago · also Guardian

  5. background

    Scottish Greens table motion for datacentre moratorium — The Scottish Greens submitted a Holyrood motion calling for a moratorium on new hyperscale datacentre projects until a national strategy and updated planning guidance covering cumulative energy and environmental impacts are produced.

  6. background

    Community groups protest outside Holyrood against datacentres — Hundreds from community groups demonstrated outside the Scottish parliament calling for clear planning rules and a formal definition of a "green" datacentre before further construction proceeds.