Two north sites are among 12 around Scotland identified as “prime” for green datacentres.
The Highland locations in line for two of the environment-friendly facilities, aimed at supporting Scotland’s digital ambitions and roll-out of improved connectivity, are in Lochaber and Caithness.
A datacentre on a 19.8-acre development site at Carr’s Corner in Lochybridge, by Fort William, could be powered by a hydro-electric scheme nearby, according to Host in Scotland, the partnership behind the plans.
And a 20-acre-plus onshore site close to the MeyGen tidal energy scheme in the Pentland Firth would also deliver the kind of green credentials the partners are looking for.
All 12 “prime” sites were identified by a study that was launched with a view to accelerating investment from the datacentre sector.
These locations are said to “have a very clear, unique proposition and represent excellent site conditions which could quickly and easily lend themselves to becoming a large-scale datacentre facility”.
Host in Scotland is an initiative set up by infrastructure experts the Scottish Futures Trust, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Crown Estate Scotland (CES).
Site selection – both the 12-strong shortlist and a longer list of 36 potential candidates, which includes locations which may require further remediation works or upgrades in connectivity – was undertaken by datacentre specialists TechRE on Host in Scotland’s behalf.
The longer list includes sites in Inverness, Nigg Energy Park, Kinlochleven, Badentoy North, near Aberdeen, Peterhead and two Granite City business parks – City South and Aberdeen Gateway.
More than 100 sites across the country were reviewed to assist datacentre operators in their “consideration of Scotland as a new territory in which to locate, or for the expansion of the indigenous Scottish market”.
James King, who heads up Host in Scotland, said: “The outputs from this important commission have identified the huge opportunities that exist right across Scotland.
“We have long known that Scotland has a tremendous offering to the data centre sector, and these two documents provide evidential support for this, with a particularly strong renewable energy story.
“We would welcome engagement with datacentre owners, operators and investors to provide further detail and support to their consideration of Scotland as a location for their new facilities.”
CES marine director Colin Palmer said: “We’re very pleased to have been able to support this important work, which we hope will help inform future decisions.
“Our ability to keep up with the global improvements in connectivity are in large part reliant on the development of new state-of-the art datacentres, and on the development of the new subsea cables that those data centres will require, both of which Scotland is well-placed to host.”
SE head of place Derek McCrindle added: “The scale, space and infrastructure on offer to companies looking for their next datacentre location is evident in this report, with sites across the length and breadth of Scotland offering access to unique hubs that are well-connected, as well as providing opportunities in the supply chain and access to talent.”