Current status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 18 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it, the Energy Consents Unit or the National Planning Hub holds data on the cumulative electricity and water demand of all data centre proposals currently in the planning system, and if not, what its position is on commissioning such data before further determinations in relation to these proposals are made.
The Scottish Government is aware of proposed data centre developments and is communicating with developers to understand the effect across the country. We are regularly engaged with Scottish Water and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to understand the potential effect on existing infrastructure.
This matter is under active consideration by the Scottish Government, and Parliament will be kept informed of the outcomes of those considerations – including the potential for planning guidance – in due course.