A datacentre firm previously committed to powering a major AI site near Glasgow with renewable energy has confirmed the facility will now be entirely dependent on the National Grid. DataVita, a central figure in the UK’s national AI strategy, had originally promised that the Lanarkshire project would draw 1GW of power from green sources—a capacity comparable to the output of a small nuclear reactor or the nation’s largest windfarm.
When questioned about the feasibility of these claims, the company stated the original arrangement remained subject to final commercial agreements, planning, and grid consenting processes. The developer, which envisions transforming the economy of the village of Chapelhall near Airdrie, has now quietly pivoted. The site is currently being designed to be fully grid-served, with the company noting that wind and solar farms could potentially connect to the development at a later date.
Despite this shift, DataVita maintains that the energy it draws from the grid will be largely renewable. The company continues to receive £202 million in public funding through wealth guarantees provided by Britain’s national wealth fund. This change in direction could create complications for both the company and the broader UK AI strategy, which has leaned heavily on the promise of massive, sustainably powered datacentres. It could present a problem for both DataVita and Britain’s AI strategy, while the shift may appear to have been inevitable given the implausibility of the claimed renewables provision.
Under the administration of former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the UK government encouraged the development of AI growth zones by offering incentives like expedited planning and potential energy discounts. DataVita’s Lanarkshire project was set to be a cornerstone of this initiative, with plans to create 3,400 jobs via a 500MW datacentre. However, the national strategy has faced skepticism following revelations that many proposed projects lacked robust foundations. An “AI growth zone” in Lanarkshire, dataVita was to build one of the key developments associated with this strategy. When investigations demonstrated that there was little solidity behind many announced plans, but this strategy began to founder just over a year after it was announced.
AI datacentres represent some of the most energy-intensive infrastructure projects globally, and with UK energy costs remaining higher than in much of Europe, alongside a years-long wait for grid connectivity, these investments have faced increasing pressure. Two major UK AI projects have already struggled to demonstrate their ability to manage self-powering or meet the high energy costs required for their operations.
In a formal response, a DataVita spokesperson insisted that the company had not misrepresented its intentions earlier this year, stating, “Our commitment to renewable energy is unchanged.
They clarified that the design now centers on a grid-served model supported by a renewable power purchase agreement. This language deviates from earlier announcements that explicitly promised the delivery of 1GW of renewable capacity via private wire connections directly linked to the datacentres.
Kat Jones, director of the charity Action to Protect Rural Scotland, described the pivot as a typical example of hyperbolic claims from developers. She noted that hyperscale AI datacentres cannot function on renewable power alone and inherently require the reliability of the grid, concluding that the shift in goalposts was entirely predictable.
