Fife village fights 600MW AI data centre on its doorstep

TL;DR:

• A 600MW, 60-hectare AI data centre is proposed for Auchtertool in Fife, on the doorstep of homes whose residents say they would be forced to move.
• Scotland has 24 data centres in planning and abundant wind power, but hyperscale projects are drawing community opposition and calls for a moratorium.
• Developer ILI Group says the scheme would create 120 jobs and reuse surplus renewable energy; the Scottish government is weighing new planning guidance.

The AI build-out’s collision with local communities has found a sharp example in rural Fife. Plans for one of the world’s largest data centres — a 600MW facility spanning 150 acres at Auchtertool — would sit beside homes where, residents say, the construction and round-the-clock operation would make staying impossible. One mother of a nine-year-old recovering from 27 brain operations said noise levels alone meant her family “can’t stay” if it proceeds.

Power, jobs and pushback

Scotland is pitched as an ideal location: wind turbines generate surplus electricity that is often “turned off” for lack of grid capacity, triggering compensation payments to operators. ILI Group’s chief executive Mark Wilson argues a data centre could soak up that surplus and ultimately ease household bills, promising apprenticeships to retrain workers from the recently closed Mossmorran chemical works. Developers pledged to address residents’ concerns individually.

Opponents are unconvinced. The proposed hub would stand 35 metres high — “three times the height of my house”, said one neighbour who runs a holiday let. Campaign group Action for Protecting Rural Scotland wants a moratorium on hyperscale centres until their impact is understood, and around 50 people protested outside the Scottish Parliament this week.

A national tension, not a local one

The clash is a microcosm of the UK’s wider compute dilemma: the same infrastructure ambitions that drive the AI sovereignty debate depend on data centres that few communities want nearby. The Scottish Greens pressed First Minister John Swinney to back a moratorium; he said he was giving “active consideration” to whether national planning guidance could balance rapid expansion against energy and climate goals.

Looking forward

The Cato proposal is still early — the government is deciding whether an environmental impact assessment is required. But with hyperscale applications multiplying across Scotland, the case is likely to set a template for how Britain reconciles its AI infrastructure push with the planning system and the people living next to it.