Giant data centre plans lodged for old nuclear plant site

Plans have been submitted for a £16.5bn data centre at the site of the former Chapelcross nuclear plant in the south of Scotland.

If approved, developers claim the scheme could deliver more than 500 full-time jobs - and it would be one of the biggest in the world in terms of its power capacity.

Applicant CX Tech Ltd hopes work could start on the project next year with it taking about eight years to complete.

It said the project was in line with attempts to redevelop the site but opponents have raised concerns over its visual impact, as well as its effect on local energy supplies and costs.

The nuclear plant began operation in 1959 and produced electricity until 2004.

Its landmark cooling towers came down a few years later and defuelling of the nuclear reactors was completed in 2013.

Other buildings still on the site are not intended to be demolished until 2040 at the earliest with final site clearance expected by 2095.

A planning statement on behalf of the applicant said the scheme would bring a number of benefits by delivering "critical digital infrastructure" and "returning a nationally significant site to productive economic use".

It said it could support up to 750 jobs during construction and about 540 once operational, plus hundreds of indirect posts.

Graeme Anderson, chief executive of CX Tech, said: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Dumfries and Galloway and for Scotland.

"Chapelcross has the potential to bring together our renewable energy strengths, digital infrastructure and high-value jobs in a way that few other sites can.

"We have an opportunity to seize that potential now, creating a new economic future for a site that has played an important role in Scotland's energy story for generations."

A local campaign has been launched against the plans, with the Scottish government expected to publish national guidance for local authorities on such projects within the next three months.

About 1,000 people have signed a petition against the scheme claiming it could put strain on the energy grid and see household bills "rocket".

It also raised fears that countryside views could be "obstructed and destroyed by the massive data centre and associated operations".

Campaigners have described the "large scale industrialisation" of the area as "unacceptable".

They have also raised concerns about the loss of agricultural land and woodland.

Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS) said the data centre's capacity, at 1000MW, was bigger than any data centre currently operating in the world.

It said that the majority of the scheme would be on greenfield and not brownfield land.

It has also raised further areas of concern including air pollution, waste and climate impacts and has questioned the employment claims.

APRS added that the energy needs of the centre would be equivalent to about 2.2 million households.

Laura Moodie, Scottish Green MSP for South Scotland, said it was one of the most "seriously concerning" data centre applications made to date.

She added: "The site at Chapelcross should be the best place to put a data centre by utilising a decommissioned brownfield site.

"But the proposal which has been lodged is reckless and endangers our energy supply and natural environment."

She said the application should be rejected because of the "risks and consequences it could bring to our energy grid and our rural communities".

Earlier this month the Scottish government rejected a call from the Scottish Greens for the application processes for data centres to be paused until new national guidelines are in force.

However, ministers said they would publish the guidance by Christmas - and that they did not expect any planning decisions to be made before then.