Edinburgh could become the first city in the UK to ban data centres following public backlash over two giant server warehouses planned for the Scottish capital.
The council is investigating whether it has the powers to introduce a moratorium on new data centres in response to local concerns over the environmental impact of the new sites.
It comes after The i Paper revealed last year that a so-called “green” data centre being proposed in Edinburgh could use as much power as every home in Edinburgh and Glasgow combined.
The dispute in Edinburgh could have wider ramifications for the UK Government’s plans to make Britain an “AI superpower”, as communities across the country become increasingly aware of the huge amount of pressure data centres can put on local water and electricity supply.
Edinburgh moves to ban data centres
The backlash in Edinburgh was sparked by a planning application for a vast new data centre “campus” on the site of the former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in South Gyle, on the western outskirts of the city.
Edinburgh Council rejected the application in February after The i Paper revealed the vast amount of power that would be consumed by the site, with the planning committee raising concerns about the development’s impact on the climate crisis.
However, separate proposals for another AI campus are being brought forward at a nearby site in Hermiston and developers for the initial South Gyle complex have launched an appeal with the Scottish Government.
The applications have prompted Edinburgh Council to investigate a potential moratorium on data centres, with officers currently looking into whether such a move would be legal.
The ban would be temporary until the Scottish Government defined what is meant by a “green” data centre.
Scotland’s national planning policy actively prioritises “green data centres”, meaning councils are encouraged to approve them, however the Scottish Government has resisted calls to provide a definition.
“As a council, we’ve requested that the Scottish Government provide us with a definition. We’ve said, look, at least until that happens, it’s ridiculous for us to be considering any planning applications for this,” said Green Councillor, Alys Mumford, who initially proposed the moratorium.
“I would want any definition we get to be very ambitious, to be really strict. That means absolutely no fossil fuels, it would mean not using water beyond that of a normal office use,” Mumford said.
A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “While we’re unable to comment on the specifics of live planning applications, environmental impacts are considered carefully as part of the decision-making process.”
Local residents and environmental groups at a meeting to discuss data centres in Edinburgh‘There isn’t enough power in Scotland’
The UK currently has around 500 data centres, which are vast warehouses that host the servers needed for things like streaming, social media and AI. This number is expected to increase by almost a fifth over the next five years due to the growth in AI use.
The UK and Scottish Governments are actively trying to attract investment from tech firms, but environmental groups are sounding the alarm over the huge amounts of power and water consumed by data centres.
Research published by Action to Protect Rural Scotland (Aprs) in December last year found the energy demand for 15 data centres in the Scottish planning system was between 4,450 MW and 4,950 MW, which is larger than the winter peak electricity demand for the whole of Scotland.
The two data centres planned for the west of Edinburgh have a combined demand of over 400 MW, which is equivalent to the demand of over one million households.
Three larger data centres are planned across Scotland in Fife, East Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire.
“There isn’t enough power in Scotland to power these five centres,” said Edinburgh resident Gordon Fraser who is opposing the plans.
“There’s definitely room for AI in the world, but we’ve got to be sensible about where they put their data centers and how sustainable they are.”
Develops are ‘greenwashing’
The lack of definition over what makes a data centre “green” has allowed developers to get away with “greenwashing”, according to critics.
In the case of the South Gyle site, the developer has suggested the site could be powered by renewable energy, but has not been able to provide details of any agreement with a provider. Without such an agreement the power would be taken from the grid.
The development also includes plans for “backup” diesel generators. Aprs has calculated the site would need more than 200 generators, which would require more than 68,040 litres of diesel per hour when in operation, the equivalent of 106,312 idling diesel cars.
“It’s not a green data centre,” said Edinburgh resident and climate expert Victoria Plutshack. “Local people are also really worried about the local air quality of having a bunch of diesel generators on site, even just as backup generators.”
Plutshack said the site had formerly been earmarked by the council as a mixed-use development “so local community members are very upset that there’s now plans for basically just a giant warehouse”.
Fraser Blackwood, head of planning at Apatura, which is developing the Wester Hermiston project, said: “As the Wester Hermiston project develops, we’ll continue to work closely with all key stakeholders and regulators to ensure that potential environmental effects are fully considered and mitigated.
“Engaging with the community like this also allows us to maximise the positive effects of the proposal – tailor-made new public spaces, waste heat reuse for local communities and enhancing the region’s biodiversity.”
‘Microcosm of a national issue’
If Edinburgh Council were to ban data centres, the city would be the first in the UK to introduce such measures.
However, other global cities, such as Amsterdam and Dublin, have previously implemented similar measures.
In Dublin, the grid operator effectively banned new data centre connections in 2021. This moratorium was lifted last year, but new data centres must meet strict sustainability criteria.
The outcome of the dispute in Edinburgh will have ramifications for the Scottish and UK Government’s AI ambitions.
To meet its AI ambitions, the UK Government has designated five “AI growth zones”, including one in Scotland, to house data centres.
“I feel like that kind of moratorium needs to be happening at the national level, because what Edinburgh is experiencing is just a microcosm of a national issue,” Plutshack said.
“Some of them may be beneficial to the economy, but honestly, they mostly produce benefits from very rich tech bros and not for the local community, and they’re in direct opposition to our other climate goals.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish National Party said: “Individual applications are a matter for local authority planning authorities, but the national planning framework ensures that potential impacts are important considerations in all planning decision-making.”
Hence then, the article about the city trying to ban giant data warehouses that will use more power than one million homes was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The city trying to ban giant data warehouses that will use more power than one million homes )
Also on site :