They said: “Following a screening request, we have provided environmental impact assessment screening and scoping responses confirming that, should there be any application, an environmental impact assessment report would be required. “Studies have shown that data centres are among the largest contributors to carbon emissions in the tech industry. A spokesperson for Thistle Data Centres Ltd said it was “not accurate” to describe the project as “a hyperscale AI data centre”. “Modern data centres are recognised as critical national infrastructure, supporting the UK's and Scotland’s requirements for sovereign capacity, relating to data storage and security together with digital resilience. A planning application would be accompanied by an environmental impact assessment, looking at issues including landscape, ecology, water and noise.