Dear Donald Trump, the backlash against hyperscale AI data centres is no hoax in Scotland – Sarah Finlay
Hyperscale data centres use vast amounts of energy, make a loud humming noise and have a detrimental effect on nearby housing markets
Not since the poll tax has an issue sparked so much outrage amongst ordinary hard-working Scots. Thousands have been galvanised to protest against US tech billionaire bros and those who would seek to profit alongside them.
What is the issue? The massive march of the hyperscale AI data centres which, like Japanese knotweed, are threatening to strangle the heart and soul of Scotland.
They have been proven to increase energy bills in Ireland, cannot solely run on renewable energy, and increase pollution. And for those living nearby, they could negatively impact your house price and ability to sell your property.
Supporters of these centres – and according to the National Energy System Operator (Neso), there are 30 in the queue for Scotland’s energy – are developers who say they are vital for AI to move forwards.
Taller than the Kelpies
Unlike the data centres we have seen previously, these AI hyperscale centres are enormous – the clue is in the name. As of June 2024, there were 11 data centres in Scotland, with a total capacity of around 30 megawatts (MW). These traditional data support centres run our cloud computing – everything from banking to WhatsApp – but we do not yet have any hyperscale AI data centres, and these are a very different beast.
They can easily be over 75 acres and taller than the Kelpies – imagine the number of computers inside loudly humming away and then imagine the heat generated, the air conditioning needed, the fumes and pollution created, and the electricity required to run all this. A hyperscale data centre can be anything over 50MW but there has yet to be a planning application for under 200MW – the equivalent energy use of 446,369 Scottish households.
Developers argue that Scotland should profit from the vast sums to be made from them. Unfortunately, the evidence for this economic boom is scant. There will not be the massive jobs boost that developers dangle in front of us like carrots.
Most data centres employ 20 to 50 people with the peak number of jobs at 1,000 to 2,000 during an onsite construction phase lasting between 12 and 18 months, according to Action to Protect Rural Scotland.
In the long run, we do not know how many jobs will be lost to AI which these hyperscale centres are being set up to support. What we do know is that AI is already taking jobs.
A monster driving potential house-buyers away
People living near hyperscale centres are finding they cannot sell their houses and the nearest house to the planned Hermiston site is just six metres away.
Estate agents in Larbert are already reporting some sales have fallen through as a result of potential buyers hearing about the prospect of a new monster neighbour. Householders also complain about the constant and insidious noise they endure.
Worse in these days of rising prices, a study in Ireland, which has proactively tried to attract these centres, reported data centre electricity demand contributed to a rise of 360 euros in the average household electricity bill between 2015 and 2023 and accounted for almost a quarter of all power users, according to a 2026 study by economist Dr Seán Fearon.
Of course with such stress on the grid, it can sometimes fail. In the US, this has caused blackouts in surrounding communities – but not, however, in the hyperscale centres. At many sites, they will have back-up generators, diesel generators, which in a centre of 210MW – like the one proposed for the Gyle in Edinburgh – would be equivalent to 106,000 idling cars not so quietly pumping out carbon dioxide emissions.
In Slough, its 416 MW of data centres accounted for 65 per cent of all electricity consumed in the area, according to an Energy Trends analysis for government.
Thousands of objections
Hyperscale AI data centres cannot be entirely powered by renewable energy. Sites across central Scotland have been selected due to optimum grid connections. But in prioritising in the Central Belt, developers find themselves on the wrong side of the B4 line, a major electricity transmission bottleneck that is difficult to move renewable power below.
The grid is made up of a mix of sources, including electricity produced with imported gas. Dr Callum MacIver, a research fellow in the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Electrical Systems Group, said: “It is not always windy or sunny, so adding new demand to the system is likely to increase the amount of fossil fuel burn that you have in the system.”
The proposed hypercentre at Auchtertool in Fife is designated to be 600MW and will be the largest in Europe. It is no wonder there have been more than 14,000 objections. At Larbert, 7,100 people have objected. Local communities all across Scotland are fighting back against these behemoths from Dunbar to Bishopbriggs to Edinburgh.
The Scottish Parliament has finally acknowledged the scale and gravity of the problem, voting in a 12-month pause on all planning decisions, and adding that each development must now have an environment impact assessment.
This rush of hyperscale data centre developers into Scotland has only started since the invention of AI large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT and sites currently being developed by companies such as DataVita, ILI and Apatura will almost certainly be sold on to American tech firms.
At the end of this particular grimy rainbow, there is going to be a massive pot of gold for someone. Take a look at what is going on in America – I dare you. Donald Trump has called the data centre backlash a hoax, but I promise you, it’s very real in Scotland.
Sarah Finlay is a member of the West Edinburgh Against AI Data Centre campaign
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