DataVita's Lanarkshire AI datacentre to run entirely on National Grid, admits renewables pledge has shifted

A datacentre company that promised to power a large AI development near Glasgow with renewable energy has confirmed the scheme will be served entirely by the National Grid.

DataVita had said the Lanarkshire project would draw 1GW - comparable to a small nuclear reactor or Britain's largest windfarm - from green sources. When The Guardian raised questions about the pledge, the company said the arrangement was "subject to final commercial agreements, planning, grid and consenting processes." It has since quietly revised the plan, saying the datacentres will be "fully grid served," with solar and windfarms possibly connecting in the future.

The company says the power it draws from the grid will be largely renewable, supplied through a renewable power purchase agreement. It remains in receipt of £202m in public money through wealth guarantees from Britain's national wealth fund.

The shift could pose problems for both DataVita and the UK's AI strategy, under which the Lanarkshire site was designated an "AI growth zone." The company had been expected to bring 3,400 jobs to the area with a 500MW datacentre.

DataVita denied misrepresenting its intentions, saying its "commitment to renewable energy is unchanged." It left open the possibility of future connections to a proposed wind and solar park in North Lanarkshire. Kat Jones of Action to Protect Rural Scotland called the change "emblematic of the hyperbolic claims being made by datacentre developers in Scotland," adding that hyperscale AI datacentres "simply cannot run on renewable power alone."

Source: The Guardian