Annan-based CX Tech Limited has lodged plans with Dumfries and Galloway Council for a £16.5 billion data center campus on the site of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station in Scotland. The application, filed as planning permission in principle for the "CX Technology Campus," is a planning framework only, with later phases subject to further design, commercial and investment decisions.
The proposal covers up to 162,000 square meters of data center floorspace across eight buildings, each with a capacity of about 120MW and standing up to 40 meters high, giving the campus a total of roughly 1GW. A dedicated training center is also included. Chapelcross was Scotland's first commercial nuclear power station, opening in 1959 and stopping generation in 2004; the site is now being decommissioned, and CX Tech was appointed strategic development partner for it by NDA Properties Limited, a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
CX Tech says the campus is designed to be net zero in operation under the UK Green Building Council framework. The site sits next to an existing 132kV grid supply point, and the developer has identified about 1GW of consented or planned renewable generation within 5km of Chapelcross, and about 2GW within 20km. Backup generation would be fossil-free and used only for routine testing and exceptional supply interruptions. On water, the company's closed-loop, non-evaporative air cooling design is expected to see each data center use as much water annually as four households, or 32 households across the whole campus.
Graeme Anderson, CEO of CX Tech Limited, called the project "a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Dumfries and Galloway and for Scotland," saying Chapelcross could combine the area's renewable energy strengths, digital infrastructure and high-value jobs. However, a "say no to Chapelcross AI data centre" petition has attracted nearly 3,000 signatures opposing the development.
Read more at FutureScot.