Fife villagers slam plans for 'mammoth' AI data centre near Auchtertool

Residents living in a Fife village have raised concerns over a planned “mammoth” AI data centre.

ILI Cato Limited, a subsidiary of the Scottish clean energy company ILI Group, is looking to build a 600MW complex, the biggest of three hubs proposed, near Auchtertool.

The massive project has been lodged in an effort to provide “huge computing power” which is required to support the usage of AI systems.

The data centre, which is planned to operate 24 hours a day, would house computer servers used to store, process, and manage digital information.

The company believes the project comes amid a “massive demand for secure and powerful computing” worldwide.

However, those living nearby believe that if plans are given the go-ahead, the complex will “dominate” the countryside surrounding Auchtertool.

On Wednesday, a public meeting was held to discuss the potential impact of the proposed site.

Resident Michael Hodgson told STV News: “This village is around 225 houses.

“This will dominate that and eclipse the size of the village that we have.

“This would be like putting a mammoth tower block on its side right in front of that hill.”

The location in Fife has been chosen by the ILI Group due to its “strong electricity grid connection”

But locals are concerned that the area surrounding their homes is becoming saturated with various projects.

Joanna Mitchell explained: “We’ve got battery storage, we’ve got multiple turbines, we’ve got a massive 90,000 solar panel farm that has been approved over in this area.

“We have a high-voltage underground cable coming in two years. To say we are being nimbys about this is just not fair.”

The proposed complex is situated not far from the ExxonMobil-operated Mosmorran site, which was closed earlier this year, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs.

The company has promised to create hundreds of jobs, including during construction and when operating.

It added funds are being set aside to help retrain and give opportunities to those impacted by the closure of Mosmorran.

Those living nearby believe that if plans are given the go-ahead, the complex will "dominate" the countryside surrounding Auchtertoo — Those living nearby believe that if plans are given the go-ahead, the complex will “dominate” the countryside surrounding Auchtertoo IlI Group

Greig Templeton from the ILI Group said: “It is already allocated for employment use within local development plans.

“So it is not a green belt, it is allocated for a use that would include industrial use.

“One thing we’re doing is we are establishing a fund of half a million pounds to help to retrain and provide apprenticeships for people who lost their jobs after the closure of Mosmorran.”