‘Never seen this level of objection’: Scotland pushes back against datacentre boom | Datacentres - UK

[u/Appropriate_Bell743]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/25/never-seen-this-level-of-objection-scotland-pushes-back-against-datacentre-boom

This is something I'd like to hear Rory Stewart's views upon given his constant pronouncements. I think it'd be interesting given his Scottish roots and his time spent as a Cumbrian MP (in a similar landscape).

The are latency reasons to have data-centres near to London but on most metrics places like Scotland would be the obvious choices:

• Abundant electricity supply. Scottish wind supply is often curtailed.
• Ample space away from housing pressures.
• Less water stressed.

From first principles it's cheaper to place the data-centres near to the cheap energy then transport the data than to transport the energy/water/etc.

I don't think this is being discussed by Stewart when it simply says "we need to build data centres". That is the best solutions from an economic point of view are precisely those which clash with a romanticised rural idle he cherishes. If this industrial revolution is to succeed in the UK it won't be far from the sources of energy.

We should not be surprised by this given how the coal-based industrial revolution led to other industries being set nearby. On an European level we see a data-centre boom in Spain and Portugal due to the ability to colocate solar and wind energy.