{"id":8046,"date":"2026-10-07T14:24:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/?p=8046"},"modified":"2026-10-07T14:25:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:25:36","slug":"holyrood-committees-seek-evidence-on-hyperscale-data-centres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/news\/8046-holyrood-committees-seek-evidence-on-hyperscale-data-centres","title":{"rendered":"Holyrood committees seek evidence on hyperscale data centres"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Holyrood committees are working together to gather evidence on the impacts of potential hyperscale data centre construction and operation in Scotland.<\/p>\n

The Climate Action Committee is calling for data and evidence on the environmental impacts of hyperscale data centres from construction and operation to the long-term management and disposal of waste, hardware and materials.<\/p>\n

The Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee wants to understand the potential economic and energy implications of hyperscale data centre development in Scotland.<\/p>\n

There are not yet any hyperscale data centres in Scotland, although more than 20 are currently proposed in different locations across the country.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing on these specific proposals, the committees\u2019 call for evidence wants to gather a complete picture of the impact of data centres. They then plan to share findings with the minister for public finance Hannah Mary Goodlad, who has said that guidance on data centres will be published by Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to its consultation, the Climate Action Committee will hold evidence sessions in October and November, and has also agreed to consider carrying out further work in this area at a later date.<\/p>\n

The call for views closes on 15 November.<\/p>\n

\"Duncan

Duncan Massey, convener of the Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Stuart McMillan, convener of the Climate Action Committee, said: \u201cWe would like to hear expert views about impacts on air and water quality, nature and biodiversity, noise pollution and emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re particularly keen to ensure that Scotland learns lessons from other countries where hyperscale data centres are already in operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duncan Massey, convener of the Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee, said: \u201cData centres have been grabbing the headlines but now it\u2019s time to dig into the details.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to ensure we understand whether there are economic positives for Scotland and what they are – will they drive new jobs and create long term employment? What about our energy systems, are they able to support hyperscale data centres?<\/p>\n

\u201cTo aid our scrutiny of Scottish Government decision making, we want to hear from experts working in these areas in order to build a clear picture of all the positives and negatives associated with bringing large scale data centres to Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are not yet any hyperscale data centres in Scotland, but more than 20 are currently proposed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":8047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50204],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-8046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-featured-story","tag-scotland","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\nHolyrood committees seek evidence on hyperscale data centres<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are not yet any hyperscale data centres in Scotland, but more than 20 are currently proposed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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