Cockenzie data centre plans progress amid concerns

In an update to a council meeting, officers said that work was now progressing on a joint venture agreement between the local authority and Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) to deliver a data centre on part of the former coal store site at Cockenzie.

It aims to provide employment and training opportunities, alongside long-term investment and financial benefit for the council.  

The council will lease the 70-acre site to the joint venture to enable the delivery of the data centre but make no further capital contribution.

The amount of future capital or revenue return to the council is yet to be finalised. 

The local authority also says that, as part of ongoing discussions with SDCL, a framework will be agreed to secure community benefits linked to the development.

SDCL was selected as preferred supplier following a competitive tender process agreed via a private report to council in February 2025 and officially announced last October.

Alongside ongoing legal negotiations, the company has commissioned external advisers to begin pre-site due diligence, including assessments of site characteristics, power availability, and geological and hydrological surveys.

Councillor John McMillan, provost and cabinet spokesperson for economic development and tourism, said: “This was a useful update to council as it shows the progress being made for part of the site and how it links with economic development potential on the rest of the Cockenzie site and, importantly, what engagement work is already happening with the local community councils and other stakeholders.

"Of particular interest to the local community will be the potential employment, training and community benefit that a data centre can bring.

"It’s important to note that this work is still at an early stage, though, and any development will be subject to the normal planning process and no application has been made at this stage.” 

SDCL was selected as preferred supplier following a competitive tender process, agreed via a private report to council in February 2025.

During the meeting, councillors raised questions about the specifics of employment and training opportunities, environmental concerns surrounding energy and water use, and whether the council would be able to properly scrutinise agreements between the joint venture and future end users of the site.

Musselburgh ward councillor Shona McIntosh (Green) said that she believed the proposal was “the wrong direction” and questioned whether electricity should be used for AI centres that allowed people to “generate pictures of dogs on the toilet".

She also raised concerns about the wider social and ethical implications of AI, arguing that it risked displacing workers in other industries and had made the creation and distribution of inappropriate images, specifically sexually explicit images, more accessible.

She also cautioned against “jumping on the bandwagon”, fearing the "AI bubble may burst" and adding that the proposal conflicted with community wealth building principles previously supported by councillors.

Further concerns were raised over the significant water demand associated with data centre operations, stating that while East Lothian was uniquely positioned to bring offshore power to the grid, water shortages already had an impact, with pressure expected to increase in the next decades due to rising temperatures.

The total demand for energy from the data centres slated to be built in Scotland is estimated at 11,000MW - nearly three times Scotland's peak winter demand, according to Scottish countryside charity Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS).

Members of Prestonpans Community Council also raised concerns about the proposed data centre at their June meeting.

These too focused on unclear commitments around the level of water usage, high energy demand, and how excess heat would be managed.

Jess Wilson, community councillor, said that she felt as though the developers were "greenwashing" the project's environmental impact.

Concerns were also raised about the absence of a clear framework for the long-term delivery of community benefits, as well as whether Prestonpans and Cockenzie would receive any benefits at all.

Emma Dodd, community councillor, said: "I'm really concerned that in 15 years' time, people in Prestonpans will be living with the consequences of the site and any community benefit money that we got has been spent to no benefit further down the line."

Community councillors also questioned the tangible jobs benefit, fearing that employment opportunities would be given to those living outwith the county rather than from the town itself.

There were also worries about the cumulative impact of data centres on Scotland’s power supply and the risk of decisions being controlled by multinational companies rather than elected representatives.

Prestonpans community councillors are working in partnership with Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council to ensure that residents’ concerns are addressed, and both communities bordering the site are able to benefit from the redevelopment.

Ben Morse, Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council chair, said the group "looks forward to the community being given the chance to properly scrutinise” the proposed joint venture between the council and SDCL.

He said the only direct engagement so far was an April meeting with council officers and SDCL representatives which allowed queries to be raised and led to "broad reassurances" that SDCL "genuinely seemed aligned to the potential of making a truly Green Data Centre".

However, there is currently no statutory definition of a green data centre. 

Mr Morse stressed that meaningful engagement between the community, council officers, and the developer would be needed ahead of any future planning application.

He also added that it was "disappointing" that council officers "appeared to conflate ongoing discussions between the two Community Councils and the council regarding community engagement about the whole former power station site".

He continued: "Fixing the longstanding issue of communication between the council as landowners and the various developers and contractors on the site does not replace the need for new developers and proposals to engage independently with the community on their own individual merits."