AI data centre would be 'one of Scotland's top polluters' if plans greenlit

EXCLUSIVE

Larbert AI data centre could become a ‘top 10 polluter’

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

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ROUTINE backup power tests could make a “green” AI data centre one of Scotland’s top 10 polluters.

During a power outage, diesel generators could hit the development’s neighbours in Larbert with air pollution of up to 44 times the healthy limit.

The planned 300MW data centre would be equipped with 200 generators to ensure uninterrupted operation during a power outage. These would not run for “any purpose other than providing emergency back-up power” and during routine testing.

READ MORE: AI data centre plans reveals gaps in planning system

But the testing alone would release a staggering 288 tonnes of nitrous oxide and nitrogen dioxide gases every year, according to the developer’s own documents.

This would rank the development, “designed as a green data centre” by Apatura, among the top 10 emitters of exhaust fumes in Scotland, ahead of Shell’s natural gas liquids plant in Mossmorran and the gas-fired Peterhead power station.

The high number of generators also means that to complete scheduled maintenance, three generators at a time would be operating for a total of 8.5 hours each working day, resulting in more than one tonne of exhaust emissions daily.

During a power interruption, 180 generators would run at full power, releasing a tonne of exhaust gases every six minutes.

In the worst-case scenario, the developer’s air quality modelling predicts nearby homes and facilities could be exposed to “very high” nitrogen dioxide levels of up to 8800 micrograms per cubic metre, exceeding the healthy hourly limit of 200 micrograms per cubic metre 44 times.

At these concentrations, the toxic gas is a reddish haze and irritates airways, especially in people sensitive to air pollution. Forth Valley Royal Hospital and Glenbervie Kindergarten are both just 350 metres from the site boundary, while Glenbervie Care Home is adjacent.

Dr Kat Jones from Action to Protect Rural Scotland said: “Scottish Government cannot allow these hyperscale AI data centres to be permitted for so many reasons, but surely the most important and critical is people’s health.”

Scottish Greens co-leader and MSP for Central Scotland, Gillian Mackay, said that the Larbert proposal was “extremely concerning”.

Gillian Mackay

She added: “The health of nearby residents, patients, children and care home residents must come before the convenience or profit margins of developers.”

The figures were included in the environmental impact assessment required as part of the planning application. Jones pointed out that many other AI data centre proposals, including the 600 MW in Auchtertool, don’t require an EIA, meaning planning applications could proceed without known impacts on air quality.

The APRS and the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition are calling for an immediate moratorium to investigate the impacts on communities, infrastructure and environment.

The Scottish Government said planning authorities were responsible for considering environmental impacts, but the affected communities “must be central” to any decision.

READ MORE: Over 800 objections against 'monster' AI data centre in Larbert

Falkirk Council declined to comment on open planning applications but said “all environmental impacts, including air quality, will be rigorously assessed”, with opportunities for public input in the decision process.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said the data centre would need an environmental permit to operate diesel backup power. Use of generators in large data centres is also subject to demonstrating the operator uses best available techniques and permitting may include a consultation.

The proposal has gathered more than a thousand objections, with comments accepted until June 26. Construction would begin in January 2027, if approved.

The proposed testing schedule for each generator includes a one-hour “basic operational test” at half capacity once a month, and two four-hour tests at maximum power: a “load bank test” every three months and a “full diagnostic test” once a year.

The assessment assumes a 3.2 MW Rehlko KD-3750-E model as the likely type, emitting 7.9 grams of NOx per second when operating at half capacity and 15.3 grams per second at full power. The exact generator model will be confirmed with the final design, requiring an updated air quality assessment.

Nitrogen dioxide is a toxic, red-brown gas produced by fossil fuel combustion. Short-term exposure can cause airway inflammation, increase sensitivity to asthma, respiratory infections and allergies and exacerbate lung and heart conditions.

Only three non-adjacent generators would operate at any one time, with testing limited to eight-hour working days. The atmospheric dispersion modelling predicts nearby residents would receive occasional moderate levels of pollution from routine testing only in the worst-weather case, staying within air quality standards.

Conservative regional MSP for the area, Meghan Gallacher, welcomed the investment in Larbert but said developments of this scale must “command public confidence” and urged the developer to engage openly with concerns about proximity to homes, pollution and infrastructure strain.

Mackay said the proposal should “set alarm bells ringing for the council, ministers and every public agency involved” and called to reject it if the developer can’t prove people will be protected from pollution. Without proper national strategy, “Scotland is sleepwalking into an AI infrastructure nightmare”, she added.

The Scottish Government said any new AI infrastructure should minimise fossil fuel reliance. Its national planning framework lacks a “green data centre” definition but directs planning authorities to consider the label when developments show use of renewable energy, excess heat recycling and water efficiency. All are present in the Larbert proposal.

UK air quality standards limit NO2 pollution to 40 micrograms per cubic metre annually and 200 micrograms hourly, not exceeding 18 times a year. Polluters emitting over 100 tonnes of NOx annually are listed in Sepa’s Scottish pollutant release inventory. Fife NGL plant in Mossmorran and Peterhead power station released 280 tonnes.

Apatura did not respond to requests for comment.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Artificial intelligence

Data centres

Environment

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Scotland

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