Key facts
- Protesters carried placards with slogans including "AI data centres threaten humanity" and "AI data centres: costing the Earth", the BBC reported.
- Some demonstrators attended in costume and others voiced opposition to planned sites in Cockenzie, East Lothian, and Larbert, Falkirk.
- The Scottish Greens and campaign groups have called for a moratorium on large data centres, arguing they could undermine climate targets.
- A planned Chapelcross site in Dumfries and Galloway would have a capacity of 1,000MW, against 12MW at DataVita's Airdrie site, the BBC reported.
- Innovation Minister Alyn Smith said some of the discourse around data centres was "wild" and defended Scotland's planning system.
Thousands of people joined a protest in Edinburgh on November 14 against the building of large-scale AI data centres, assembling at the top of the Royal Mile before marching toward the Scottish Parliament, BBC Scotland News reported. Demonstrators carried placards and some wore costumes, with slogans including "AI data centres threaten humanity" and "AI data centres: costing the Earth".
The protest is part of a wave of demonstrations across Europe over the environmental impact of data centres. Some attendees opposed specific projects, including sites in Cockenzie, East Lothian, and Larbert, Falkirk. Kim Cairns, a campaigner for Say No To Chapelcross AI Data Centre, told BBC Scotland News her community was worried about noise, road closures and access problems during construction, and about noise once the centre operates. "For Chapelcross it's the sheer size of it, the amount of electricity it's going to need," she said.
According to the BBC, the biggest data centre in Scotland is thought to be DataVita's site in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, with capacity for 12MW. A planned site at Chapelcross, Dumfries and Galloway, would have a capacity of 1,000MW if it goes ahead, which the BBC said would make it one of the largest data centres in the world.
The Scottish Greens and campaign groups have called for a moratorium on large data centres, arguing they could undermine climate targets and place additional pressure on renewable energy supplies. Friends of the Earth campaigner Kim Pratt said the developments would make profit for big tech companies while having national-level impacts in Scotland, including higher energy bills and climate effects.
Innovation Minister Alyn Smith previously told BBC Scotland some of the discourse around the subject was "wild", saying: "You'd think there wasn't a planning system at all." The Scottish government confirmed it would publish new planning guidance on data centres before the end of the year and said it was developing a strategic approach to maximizing public benefit from sites in Scotland. A spokesperson said planning authorities are now required to notify ministers of new data centre applications, and that a planning direction mandates an Environmental Impact Assessment for all new data centres with a power capacity exceeding 50 megawatts.