TL;DR

DataVita wants permission to run backup generators at its proposed 120-megawatt data centre at Chapelhall in North Lanarkshire when high customer demand coincides with warm weather. Campaigners say it would be the first Scottish hyperscale site to plan for peak power this way. An investigation by The National also found the company intends to fit emission controls to only half the engines at an earlier site, which has benefited from public financing, raising the question of what “green” should mean for AI growth zones.

What DataVita is proposing

Planning documents show as many as 32 of the site’s 48 generators could run in “load support mode” when demand peaks and the air is warmer than 21C, adding power to help cool the servers. The project, known as DV4, sits in the Lanarkshire AI growth zone, a UK government designation for projects that can secure 500 megawatts or more by 2030.

DataVita puts the likely use of load support at 80 hours a year at most, says the sites are always on grid power in normal operation, and plans to burn hydrotreated vegetable oil rather than diesel. Its two smaller sites, DV1 and DV3, got approval this year, are being built, and also plan to use load support.

The pollution questions

Permit papers for DV1 show emission-reducing equipment on only six of its 12 generators, with the rest to be upgraded within three years once more capital spending is signed off. The developer’s assessment says that still keeps emergency operation within current air quality limits. An air quality consultant who reviewed the work for The National, anonymously, said the controls can need 10 minutes or longer before they start cutting emissions, and that nitrogen dioxide during outages may have been significantly underestimated.

Jen Thompson, who lives 50 metres from the planned site, called the prospect a “massive worry” for her four children. Dr Kat Jones of Action to Protect Rural Scotland described the reduced protection at DV1 as a “cynical move”, pointing to the public backing DataVita receives. DV1’s extension and the new DV3 are backed by a £300m loan. The Scottish National Investment Bank is among the lenders, and the National Wealth Fund partly guarantees the financing.

Looking forward

DataVita says it welcomes scrutiny and is launching a site for public questions, and it will need a full environmental impact assessment for DV4. Sepa is taking comments on DV1’s generator permit until 14 October. The dispute is part of a wider pushback against large AI data campuses, and it shows how far a “green” label can depend on what happens during the hottest hours of the year.