On Wednesday 4 February, City of Edinburgh Council’s Development Management Sub-committee voted unanimously to reject plans for a ‘Green AI Data Centre’ in South Gyle.
Environmental campaigners such as Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) initially raised concerns about the development of this data centre when it was first proposed in October 2025.
Planning consultancy Shelborn Drummond Ltd accused the developers of ‘greenwashing’ the project’s large-scale environmental impact with smaller pledges to environmental practices such as implementing a new cooling technology and energy-efficient lighting use.
The council seemed to agree with these points, ruling with cross-party consensus that the proposal for the ‘green’ data centre failed to cover the site’s potential environmental impact, and did not address the climate crisis.
In an open letter, The Edinburgh Minute reported the shocking effects that building this 213-megawatt data centre would have.
These include the production of 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year, equivalent to having a second Edinburgh Airport, and using enough water to fill over an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
These issues are not limited to this project but are part of the environmental concerns that follow from an expanded use of AI.
Running and training large AI models requires ever larger data centres, bringing environmental risks such rapid water consumption and the production of harmful electronic waste as well as greenhouse gases.
Amid the rapid adoption of AI there have not been robust definitions and requirements established for these centres.
Dr Kat Jones, director of APRS, stated: “This is an absolutely momentous decision … We need an immediate moratorium from the Scottish Government to give time for a proper review of their impacts on climate targets, communities, and the grid.”
She continued: “This decision has shown that ‘green’ data centres as a ‘National Priority’ does not trump concerns on environmental impacts and it does not trump the local development plan.”
“The City of Edinburgh Council building” by GB_1984 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.