Over 20 massive data centres are being planned in Scotland. These projects would have devastating local and national impacts if built.  

These buildings crowd out communities, have huge carbon and water footprints, and use thousands of tonnes of critical minerals, such as copper and rare earth metals, which are extracted in harmful ways.  

Tech giants are using their power to push through their data centre plans without proper scrutiny so they can increase their AI capacity and profits, leaving people in Scotland to bear the costs.  

If all the hyperscale data centres planned in Scotland were built, they would double the electricity demand of the whole country. In Ireland, data centres now use a quarter of all electricity and have increased household energy bills by an extra €360. 

A direction from the Scottish Government on data centres was recently published but this was not a moratorium and does not require developers to implement safeguards to protect people and nature. This means data centres could be rushed through the planning system without proper consideration and without allowing the people who will be most affected to have their say.

The Scottish Government's half-hearted approach has left communities at risk. For example, the clock is ticking on data centres in Fife and Falkirk where plans that do not consider social and environmental impacts properly have already been submitted.  

In the US, there have been over 500 local bans or restrictions on data centres in response to public opposition. These are happening right across the country, in Republican and Democrat areas – demonstrating that huge public opposition to this industry can succeed.  

Email the Minister in charge of Planning, Hannah Mary Goodlad MSP, to demand an immediate moratorium on all planning decisions for major data centres in Scotland until social and environmental safeguards are created.