To play its part in fighting the climate emergency Scotland aims to become Net Zero by 2045, five years ahead of the rest of the UK. The Scottish Government is committed to enabling the transition from carbon-intensive industries to cleaner, greener sectors in a way that is fair, leaves no one behind and benefits everyone. Data centres could enable the country to achieve this vision.
Data centre operators, including Google, IBM, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Green Mountain, Microsoft and Intel, plus industry trade groups that have joined the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact have committed to making these facilities climate neutral by 2030. To achieve this goal, new data centres must source their power from renewable (wind, solar, hydro) or low-carbon (nuclear) energy. By 2030 Scotland aims to install 20GW of additional renewable capacity. This is a critical step towards enabling data centres to operate sustainably while also supporting grid stability through demand response and smart, flexible management of power consumption that aligns with peak generation.
Furthermore, growth in low-latency compute-hungry applications implies that new facilities can be built in more remote locations, or on the edge of smaller cities and big towns as opposed to major cities, where some in Europe, like Amsterdam and Frankfurt, have had to restrict data centre expansion because of their impact on congested grids.
Data centres built in Scotland can be operational sooner than most other parts of the UK, thanks to a less congested grid and shorter grid connection times. Land is also considerably cheaper and there is more of it available compared with London and the south-east, with demand compounded by an acute need for new housing.
Creating jobs
Data centres create demand for jobs within both blue-collar and white-collar sectors. These significant infrastructure projects can sustain construction and other jobs, which can be recruited from nearby areas and regions. For example, AWS plans to invest £8 billion between 2024 and 2028 in building, operating and maintaining data centres in the UK, which could contribute £14 billion to UK gross domestic product (GDP). The investment could support an average of more than 14,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs on an annual basis at local UK businesses, spanning construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and other jobs within the broader local economy. Google is investing £1 billion in a new data centre near London and Microsoft will invest £2.5 billion in the next few years on doubling its data centre footprint in the UK, all of which will create construction and technical jobs.
In Scotland, data centre operators can draw from a talent pool of graduates from a thriving digital technology sector. According to EY, Scotland is second to London among UK locations attracting new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into the UK in 2023, with most of these investments originating from the US, while top FDI project growth sectors include utility supply and digital technology. Meanwhile, the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde are recipients of Academic Centre of Excellence status from the UK Government in relation to cybersecurity, while the Scottish capital seeks to become the “data capital of Europe”, thanks to Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University’s Data Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative which is helping hundreds of companies within the region raise funds to boost their work to drive innovation.
Sustainable data centre developments
While Scotland ticks many boxes in terms of being an attractive location for data centres, sustainability cannot be sacrificed for growth. Many data centres source clean energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs), via the grid or a direct wire arrangement with a nearby renewable energy plant. But there are times that fossil fuel generated electricity is required to plug the gap in renewables’ intermittency.
Apatura’s sustainable data centre developments optimise consumption of clean power by installing onsite battery energy storage systems, able to recharge at times of peak renewable generation on the grid and release this power at times when renewable generation is lower, minimising demand for fossil fuel generation.
To date, much of Scotland’s low carbon economic activity has been focused on the expansion of renewables and low carbon electricity generation. Further low carbon investments and services provide an opportunity for more balanced regional development in the country. For example, smaller businesses can benefit directly by engaging in climate change mitigation, through sourcing low carbon heating. By setting a 2045 target for Net Zero emissions of all greenhouse gases, the Scottish Government aims to provide certainty to markets, businesses and industries as they shift towards low carbon technologies and practices.
Apatura’s approach to sustainability can ensure that data centres are developed to optimise energy efficiency, maximise consumption of renewable generation, support grid flexibility, boost biodiversity at sites, support local supply chains and enable sector coupling, to decarbonise heating/cooling, to support Scotland’s decarbonisation ambition, which includes a just transition to clean heating and reducing fuel poverty.
The right approach to developing projects
As society’s demand for data grows, so does the need for energy to support it. When developed without thoughtful planning and location selection, data centres risk straining the UK’s energy infrastructure, potentially hindering Net Zero ambitions and encroaching on valuable land needed for housing and community growth. But when strategically designed, data centres can instead become sustainable, climate-neutral assets, enhancing biodiversity, strengthening local communities, and even contributing to the clean energy transition.
Apatura’s commitment to this collaborative, sustainable approach has been key to securing planning success across our diverse energy projects, including a major pipeline in Scotland. By leveraging renewable energy sources, advanced storage solutions, and innovative district heating integration, Apatura envisions data centres that are not just power-hungry facilities but transformative assets driving Scotland’s journey toward a Net Zero future. Through these innovations, we’re dedicated to building local impact and lasting climate benefits for generations to come.
