Water use for data centres: EIR release

Information requested

I would like to request any information you hold on existing or future policies regarding the use of water for data centres in Scotland. I am particularly interested in any discussions regarding steps to be taken should the amount of water used for data centres start to have a detrimental impact on the quality and amount of water available for homes in Scotland.

Response

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because no information is held specific to the use of water for data centres in Scotland. This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Despite not holding this information, we have a statutory obligation to apply this test. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about water use for data centres, clearly, we cannot provide reports that we do not hold.

To be helpful, under our duty to provide advice and assistance, a separate annex has been included with the above response.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500480120 - Information released - Annex

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