Data centres have rapidly become one of Scotland’s most contentious development issues. As someone currently involved in progressing a major data centre proposal in Scotland, I understand why.

These are substantial developments with substantial infrastructure requirements. Communities are absolutely entitled to ask difficult questions about their energy consumption, water use, environmental impact, grid connections and the benefits they will actually deliver.

Developers should be expected to answer those questions. But difficult questions also deserve informed answers.

Increasingly, I worry that the debate in Scotland is becoming reduced to a choice between being “for” or “against” data centres, when the reality is considerably more complicated.

Not every data centre is the same. Not every site is the same. Not every cooling solution is the same. And the impact of developing a major previously developed industrial site can be very different from building on undeveloped or environmentally sensitive land.

We need to get beyond the headlines.

The power question

Energy consumption is understandably at the centre of the debate. Large data centres can require significant electrical capacity. That cannot simply be brushed aside by the industry.

But quoting the maximum electrical capacity of a proposed development does not, by itself, tell us everything we need to know about how that development will operate.

We need to be discussing actual expected demand, phasing, utilisation, grid capacity, resilience, the source of electricity and what network infrastructure is required to support a project.

These are complex infrastructure questions, but they matter.

If Scotland is serious about attracting investment in AI, digital infrastructure and other power intensive industries, then we also need an honest national conversation about the electricity infrastructure required to support that ambition.

We cannot simultaneously talk about becoming a destination for technology investment while avoiding the infrastructure questions that come with it.

Water and cooling need the same level of scrutiny

Water consumption has become another major concern surrounding data centres.

Again, it is a legitimate question.

But “data centre” does not automatically mean one particular cooling technology or level of water consumption.

Different facilities can use air cooling, water-based systems or hybrid solutions, and technology continues to evolve.

Rather than making assumptions, the sensible question for any proposed development is straightforward: “what cooling system is actually being proposed, how much water will it require and where will that water come from?”

That is the type of information developers should be prepared to provide.

Location matters

Perhaps one of the biggest problems with the current debate is the tendency to discuss all data centres as though they present exactly the same planning issues.

They don’t. Scotland has a significant legacy of former industrial land.

These sites can have existing infrastructure, established transport connections and a history of major employment, while also carrying substantial challenges associated with remediation and regeneration.

If a data centre can help unlock investment in a difficult brownfield site, that should form part of the assessment.

That doesn’t give brownfield development a free pass. Environmental impacts still need to be understood and mitigated. Infrastructure still needs to work. Communities still deserve answers.

But surely we should be capable of distinguishing between the regeneration of previously developed industrial land and proposals affecting greenfield or environmentally sensitive locations.

Good planning depends on context.

The industry has responsibilities too

The data centre industry also needs to recognise that some of the public concern surrounding these developments exists because we have not always explained them particularly well.

Technical language around megawatts, grid connections, cooling systems and resilience can mean very little to somebody who simply wants to understand what is being proposed in their community. Developers cannot complain about misinformation while failing to communicate effectively themselves.

We need to explain projects clearly, publish meaningful information and be prepared to answer uncomfortable questions.

Where heat recovery is technically and commercially viable, we should explore it.

Where environmental impacts can be reduced, we should demonstrate how.

Where communities can benefit, those benefits should be tangible.

And where concerns are legitimate, the industry should acknowledge them rather than dismiss them.

Scotland needs clarity

There is also a wider policy question which goes beyond any individual planning application.

Does Scotland actually want to become a serious location for data centres and AI infrastructure?

If the answer is yes, then we need greater alignment between our economic ambitions, planning system, energy strategy and infrastructure investment.

Developers need to know what standards they will be expected to meet.

Communities need to know what protections and benefits they should expect.

Investors need sufficient certainty to make long-term decisions.

And government needs to decide what role this infrastructure should play in Scotland’s economic future.

That doesn’t mean weakening environmental scrutiny. If anything, clearer standards should strengthen it.

It means deciding what responsible development looks like and then applying those expectations consistently.

A better debate

The question facing Scotland shouldn’t simply be whether we are “for” or “against” data centres.

The better question is:

If Scotland is going to host the digital infrastructure required by an increasingly data-driven and AI-enabled economy, what should responsible data centre development look like?

That is a debate worth having.

It should involve communities, environmental organisations, government, planners, the energy sector, developers and data centre operators.

There will be disagreement, and there should be.

But Scotland will make better decisions if those decisions are based on evidence, individual sites and actual proposals rather than treating every data centre as though it is exactly the same.

Scrutiny is important. So is getting the facts right.

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