Edinburgh councillors have voted to move forward with plans for a temporary ban on AI data centre developments, as pressure grows on the Scottish Government to define what constitutes a ‘green data centre’.
The motion to explore a temporary moratorium on AI data centre developments in Edinburgh was brought forward by the council’s Green group at a meeting last Thursday. It called for a halt to new data centre development until the Scottish Government issues clear guidance on what defines a green data centre.
Councillors backed the move by 51 votes, while an amendment to wait until after any appeal from the developers of the proposed data centre located on the site of the former RBS HQ in South Gyle was brought forward received just 10 votes. That data centre development appears to have spearheaded the recent efforts by Edinburgh Council to pause support for AI data centres, especially given the developer claimed that it was building a ‘green’ data centre, despite it not being clear what that exactly constituted.
It should be noted that while the council backed a move towards a temporary ban, it’s not yet in force – nor does the vote mean it definitely will be. That’s because the vote was more symbolic, in that it would urge the council to look into how it could implement a ban, and whether it actually had the power to. That’s especially important, as the Scottish Government has been supportive of AI data centres, provided they meet the definition of being ‘green’ – something that isn’t clearly defined, according to many councillors who sit on Edinburgh Council.
This isn’t the first time a temporary ban on data centres in Scotland has been proposed. In the wake of the decision to reject the data centre on the site of the former RBS HQ, Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) called for a data centre moratorium across the whole of Scotland. Like the councillors who spearheaded this latest symbolic vote, APRS also called on the Scottish Government to give a clear definition on what a ‘green’ data centre was.
Under existing Scottish Government guidance, planning authorities are told they “may wish to consider” factors such as renewable power, energy-efficient technologies, minimised water consumption, and the re-use of excess heat.
For critics, that does not go nearly far enough.
The concern is that developers could potentially secure green credentials through relatively modest sustainability measures, while still bringing forward schemes with a substantial environmental footprint. That question has become harder to ignore as larger AI-focused proposals emerge, and as local opposition has grown.
The row lands at an awkward time for the wider push to accelerate AI adoption across the UK, however. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out ambitions to make the UK the ‘fastest adopter’ of AI in the G7, but Edinburgh’s vote underlines the growing tension between that political ambition and the planning, grid, and environmental questions that come with the physical infrastructure behind it.
