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The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) anticipate that data centres are likely to be the subject of considerable parliamentary scrutiny in this parliamentary session of the Scottish Parliament. This Area of Research Interest (ARI) aims to support SPICe in identifying expertise to inform scrutiny that relates to the environmental, economic and social impacts of data centres in Scotland. Specifically, they are interested in identifying academics with expertise about data centres in relation to any of the following areas:

• Energy demand and power infrastructure
• Water consumption and cooling systems
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Other sustainability issues including pollution and resource use
• Land use, planning, regulation and community engagement
• Socioeconomic impacts (national, regional or local)
• Data sovereignty
• Data centre design and purpose.

And:

• Receiving links to current or recently published research relating to any of the topic areas above. 
• Identifying suggestions of priority issues that a committee may wish to consider further relating to the topic areas above.

The information could be used to:

• Inform questions or issues that a Scottish Parliament Committee considers as part of any inquiry relating to data centres. 
• Inform research briefings prepared by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) and used to support parliamentary scrutiny. 
• Identify potential expert witnesses.

Academics at all career stages and from all research institutions are encouraged to respond to highlight their relevant expertise and links to relevant research.

Area of Research Interest: Understanding the Impact of Data Centres in Scotland

The plan is to close this ARI on Friday 23rd October 2026.