John Swinney is facing urgent calls to impose a moratorium on plans for hyperscale AI data centres in Scotland, amid warnings they could cripple the National Grid and become major polluters. A proposed 600MW site in Auchtertool, Fife—the size of 100 football pitches—would produce more air pollution than the nearby Mossmorran gas plant, according to analysis by the Sunday Mail and Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS).
Air Pollution Concerns in Auchtertool
The site, proposed last month, requires enormous energy and would rely on backup bio-diesel generators. Even routine testing of these generators would emit more nitrogen oxide gases than Shell's Fife Natural Gas Liquids plant at Mossmorran. Dr Kat Jones, APRS director, said: “To find out that this level of air pollution will be produced by this development is shocking. These projects bring a long list of concerns, including climate consequences, air pollution, loss of green space, and the impact on household energy bills.” She added that when generators run on emergency power during interruptions, pollution levels would be “completely off the charts.”
Grid Strain and Health Risks
APRS estimates that if all hyperscale sites in the Scottish planning system proceed, they would require 1.5 times more power than currently used by the whole of Scotland. Dr Jones urged the Scottish Government to “put in place an immediate moratorium” due to health risks. Last week, another proposed 300MW data centre near Larbert, Stirlingshire, was accused of “Olympic-level greenwashing.” New research indicates it would rely on 200 backup diesel generators, making it one of Scotland’s top 10 polluters.
Local Opposition
Hazel McQueen, a resident living next to the Larbert site, said: “The fact that these generators will be tested monthly is so concerning. This is a huge industrial development being proposed far too close to existing homes.” Tasha Marsden, co-founder of the Say No to Larbert Data Centre campaign, added: “I have elderly family in Larbert and I am really concerned about the impacts the pollution from this data centre would have on them. Forth Valley Hospital is just across the roundabout and adjacent to the site is a care home which houses vulnerable residents.” She noted that more than 12,000 people would be directly impacted.
Political Pressure
At First Minister's Questions, Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer challenged Swinney to declare a moratorium, stating: “If all of the applications currently in the pipeline are approved, they will consume up to 6000 megawatts of power—that’s more than 1.5 times our entire national power use at peak time. That is obviously completely impossible but there currently isn’t any clear government strategy or guidance for councils on how to deal with these applications.” He emphasised that these hyperscale proposals differ from existing data centres, such as the Edinburgh University supercomputer.
Swinney responded that the government would “consider all emergency planning issues” but noted that planning policy criteria are clearly set out. The numbers and size of generators for the Fife facility have not been made public.
