Planned 1GW Scottish AI site to take all power from grid

single source· 1 articles · confidence: medium · first seen 2026-11-07 10:00 UTC

What this means for you

If you are scoping capacity in central Scotland, treat the power source as unsettled: DataVita's own wording leaves supply subject to grid and consenting processes. Nothing to act on today — no construction timetable and no published supply contract.

A planned AI datacentre in Lanarkshire will be served entirely by the National Grid, despite its developer's earlier pledge to run it on 1GW of renewable energy. DataVita had said the Chapelhall site near Glasgow would draw that power from green sources — 1GW being roughly the output of a small nuclear reactor. Asked about the pledge by the Guardian, the company said the arrangement was "subject to final commercial agreements, planning, grid and consenting processes". The Guardian describes the project as a key plank of the UK's AI strategy.

Key facts

  • ·DataVita's Chapelhall datacentre near Glasgow is planned to draw 1GW of power, which the Guardian says is equivalent to the output of a small nuclear reactor. source
  • ·The scheme will be served entirely by the National Grid, the Guardian reports, despite the earlier commitment to renewable energy. source
  • ·DataVita said the power arrangement was "subject to final commercial agreements, planning, grid and consenting processes". source
  • ·The Guardian describes the Lanarkshire project as a key plank of the UK's AI strategy. source

What the sources say

  • The Guardian AI — Questions a Scottish datacentre's green-power promise and gets a grid-only answer.

Sources

The original reporting. Follow these — they did the work.

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