Shaping the future: Scotland’s green data strategy

Scotland stands at a pivotal moment in its digital and energy transition. As global demand for data processing accelerates – fuelled by cloud computing, AI adoption and the rapid expansion of digital services – the infrastructure required to support this growth is scaling at an unprecedented rate. Data centres, once a relatively niche part of the energy system, are now emerging as major industrial assets with significant implications for electricity demand, carbon emissions and sustainability.

Power consumption behind the digital boom

Data centres are substantial consumers of electricity. It is estimated that they currently account for around 2.5% of Britain’s total electricity demand, and that figure is expected to rise to around 10% by 2050. To put those figures into perspective, a single data centre typically uses as much electricity as around 100,000 households, while the largest facilities currently under construction are expected to consume up to twenty times that amount. The UK is home to 523 data centres – the third‑highest number of any country worldwide – including 16 located in Scotland. These figures are expected to rise significantly to keep pace with increasing demand for digital services.

New clean power capacity is therefore needed to meet this increased electricity demand, which should in turn drive further investment in clean power generation and power storage markets. However, the scale of this expansion brings significant challenges, particularly in relation to energy consumption and environmental sustainability.

The case for green data centres

Most data centres are connected to the national grid and continue to rely on diesel generators for back‑up power. These systems are carbon‑intensive, often legally restricted to 50 operating hours per year. A more sustainable model is emerging through the concept of “Green Data Centres”, which integrate cleaner technologies such as:

• battery energy storage systems, and
• high‑efficiency gas turbines that are capable of transitioning to low‑carbon gases in future

These solutions can provide both back‑up power to the data centre and integration into the flexible power market.

Optimising location for performance and sustainability

Improving operational efficiency remains a key priority for the sector. Given the significant operating and connection costs, progress has been made to increase the efficiency of data centres.  Advances in low‑carbon cooling technologies and the integration of waste‑heat recovery systems offer significant opportunities. It has been reported that data centres in Scotland consumed in excess of 13 million litres of water last year. The waste heat could be utilised as a low‑cost, low‑carbon source of heating for nearby homes, commercial buildings or industrial processes.

Scotland’s climatic and renewable advantages

Scotland’s cooler climate provides a natural advantage, reducing the need for energy‑intensive artificial cooling and therefore reducing operational costs. There’s also a strong argument for locating data centres near Scotland’s offshore wind farms. Locating data centres closer to the generation source would reduce grid transmission costs. However, the UK government’s decision to rule out zonal pricing under the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements has potentially weakened the geographical appeal of remote Scottish regions. There are numerous other factors that influence the siting of data centres. Many users need extremely low‑latency performance – particularly high‑frequency financial sectors – so user proximity can often be critical.

Policy direction

The Scottish Government launched the Green Data Centres and Digital Connectivity Vision and Action Plan in 2021, which seeks to support the growth of Scottish Data centre clusters. The action plan aims to build Scotland’s profile as a leading zero-carbon, cost-competitive green data hosting location. It also aligns with Scotland’s 2045 net zero emissions target.

The UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan also underscores the strategic importance of strengthening national AI capabilities. The plan aims to help drive efficiency and growth of AI opportunities across the UK, including boosting the UK’s AI Infrastructure needs and establishing AI Growth Zones to facilitate the accelerated build out of AI data centres, while working with the National Energy System Operator to consider energy requirements.

Looking to the future

With its cooler climate, abundant renewable resources and track record in clean power generation, Scotland has many of the natural advantages required to become a competitive hub for green data centres. It has the potential not only to host the data infrastructure of the future, but to do so in a way that sets a global benchmark for sustainability, resilience and economic opportunity. Investment in low‑carbon backup power, advanced cooling, waste‑heat utilisation and grid‑integrated storage can help ensure that data centres support — rather than strain — Scotland’s net‑zero ambitions. However, realising this potential, will necessitate continued collaboration between policymakers and industry.

How we can help

If you would like to discuss how this issue might impact you or your business, please contact our Partner, Iain Baird.