The Scottish government is considering a temporary pause on new data centre applications following concerns about the sector's energy demand and environmental impact.
Pressure has been mounting from Scottish campaigners against a raft of proposed hyperscale data centres across the country. There are currently 24 projects in the planning stages that if approved would put pressure on the grid and impact renewable energy supplies, water resources and climate targets.
The Scottish National party (SNP) has debated the issue internally after public pressure and pushback from local councils including Edinburgh and East Ayrshire, as well as the Scottish Green Party.
The SNP’s policy-making body, the National Council, then voted to officially back calls for a temporary moratorium on all new unapproved data centre applications. That motion has now been sent to the Scottish government for consideration.
According to Scottish daily newspaper The National, which first broke the story, as the SNP...