Campaigners who have been calling on ministers to address concerns over the efforts to build the data centres across Scotland and halt plans until sufficient analysis of their effect on communities, energy supplies and the environment can be delivered, have welcomed the decision. 

The campaigners have been urging for a pause on development until firm planning guidelines can be laid out to enable councils and local communities to come to informed decisions. 

The vote arrives after the Scottish Government’s announcement that all proposed data centres with a power demand higher than 50 megawatts will need to submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA), starting on 17 September. 

New guidelines have been promised by Christmas time. Backed by over 70 organisations in the country, Scotland’s climate coalition Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is urging for action to deal with imminent planning decisions on large-scale data centres that could cause a spike in household bills, harm the environment and weaken attempts to tackle climate change. 

Fraser Sutherland, coalition manager for Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said: “It’s good that Scottish ministers have finally woken up to the need for stringent environmental impact assessments to be carried out by companies aiming to build hyperscale data centres.

“However, there are still many questions that must be answered to allow informed decisions to be made.”

Sutherland added: “Experts are warning that ordinary householders could face even bigger energy bills if the raft of giant data centres currently in the Scottish planning system get the go-ahead. 

“The 24 schemes already being planned in Scotland would more than double demand for power, likely requiring major upgrades to the electricity grid – work that is currently paid for by consumers.

“If built, they could also trigger an increase in use of fossil fuels for back-up generation to keep them running day and night, which would completely undermine the rest of society’s efforts to cut carbon and tackle climate change.”

Sandy Begbie CBE, CEO of Scottish Financial Enterprise, said: “We welcome parliament’s decision not to place a moratorium on data centre developments in Scotland. Such a move would have undermined one of the Scottish government’s defining objectives namely attracting investment in Scotland to deliver economic growth.

“We also welcome the Scottish Government’s explicit acceptance that a moratorium would have sent a negative message to investors and the compound effect that would have had about investor views on Scotland being ‘open for business’.

“It is important that the Scottish Government now works at pace to develop the planning framework which will allow some of these investments to proceed and enable Scotland to take advantage of the undoubted economic opportunity we have in this area.”

Scottish Labour economy spokesperson Daniel Johnson said: “Scotland has huge strengths in data science and energy but we need a real plan to ensure we benefit from new developments.

“Data centres an increasingly important part of our national infrastructure and a potential source of jobs, but construction cannot happen at the expense of our communities, environment or energy needs.

“So far the SNP has failed to do the work needed to get this right – that must change.

“It is right that the SNP government has accepted the need for national guidance before more decisions are made and I want to see that guidance delivered with the urgency needed.

“We must ensure any developments create benefits and don’t put our environment at risk or undermine our transition.

“The SNP must put in place the protections needed and ensure that any data centres work for communities, create good jobs, and deliver for Scotland.”