Whether in Auchtertool, Longformacus or over swathes of other parts of central and south Scotland, the reasons for the current proliferation of proposals for hyperscale data centres need to be urgently reviewed and explained to the public.
Treated by the Scottish government as developments of national importance, yet not specifically referred to in National Planning Framework 4, some of the proposed data centres would be among the world’s largest. They would consume huge quantities of power and need large volumes of water.
Arguments that Scotland provides cheap land in which to site such developments apparently include its currently cool climate compared with the rest of the UK. This needs to be considered in the context of ongoing global warming.
Equally, enhanced employment prospects need to be examined – are they transitory, for example during construction, or long term?
Are we being inexorably driven into a world dominated by AI?
All of these questions need peer review and, in Scotland, organisations such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh need to examine and report on them urgently before Scottish government policies destroy our lives and our environment.
Andrew Mcmillan Edinburgh
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