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7 entries matching · showing 1–7

1. 22 Oct 2026 UK Chapelcross, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland 1000 MW Consultation open

   Chapelcross objections pass 10,000

   More than 10,000 objections have been lodged against CX Tech's £16.5bn, 1,000MW hyperscale campus at Chapelcross — counted through a portal set up by the Scottish Greens rather than the council's own register. At full capacity the site would draw about 7 million MWh a year, which campaigners equate to the electricity used by two million Scottish homes. The Greens' Laura Moodie says the developer's own environmental statement finds a 'moderate adverse and significant' impact, and that emissions would exceed Dumfries and Galloway's legal greenhouse-gas limit by almost double at full operation. CX Tech says surplus heat and dedicated renewable connections mean the claim about household bills is 'completely incorrect', that the campus is 'designed to be operationally net zero', and that it would bring 750 construction jobs, 450 permanent roles and 40 apprenticeships a year.

   Why it matters: The clearest test yet of whether 'largest in the world' can be waved through a council that has been told not to decide until national guidance lands in December.

   Source: The National / Scottish Greens [C]

2. 9 Oct 2026 Updated 20 Oct UK Norfolk 150 MW Consultation open

   Norwich Apex 150MW scheme into noise scrutiny

   The Keswick (Norwich) 150MW scheme faces noise scrutiny: environmental assessments acknowledge 'very high noise levels' without mitigation, the petition has reached ~15,000 signatures, and the Conservative council leader Daniel Elmer has said he will object (application 2026/2957). South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough and broadcaster Jake Humphrey also oppose it over its proximity to Marston Marsh; the buildings are ~20m high with 72 roof-mounted chillers, and consultation opened on 7 Oct. On 20 October around 100 people protested outside Norfolk County Council's headquarters.

   Why it matters: The same questions as Abbots Road — noise, water and farmland — a hundred miles east.

   Source: TMC Insight / BBC [C]

   Changes (4)

   1. 20 Oct 2026 — Added the ~100-person protest outside Norfolk council headquarters (20 Oct).
   2. 14 Oct 2026 — Added South Norfolk Council's Conservative leader Daniel Elmer, who has also said he will object.
   3. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the MP and broadcaster objections, the ~20m height and 72 roof chillers, and the Marston Marsh proximity; consultation opened 7 Oct.
   4. 9 Oct 2026 — First filed.
3. 7 Oct 2026 Updated 15 Oct UK Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland 1000 MW Consultation open

   Chapelcross objections near 5,000 — and the council stops publishing them

   Objections to the £16.5bn Chapelcross campus climbed towards 5,000 (about 1,000 in the first 48 hours), and Dumfries and Galloway Council changed its usual process — no longer publishing individual representations online, only a count and a summary at the end. The eight buildings are assessed at up to 40m high, and the developer targets a permission-in-principle decision in December 2026; consultation runs to 29 October. The Scottish Greens say 2,000+ objections were lodged through their portal in four days, and MSP Laura Moodie claims the site's greenhouse-gas emissions would be nearly double the limit for the whole of Dumfries and Galloway. On 15 October, Outlander star and Galloway native Sam Heughan added his voice, calling for a pause or moratorium, as the developer put the investment at £15.6bn; the Scottish Government declined the Greens' call for a pause but said it will publish planning guidance by Christmas and does not expect decisions before then.

   Why it matters: A 1GW scheme on a 'brownfield' pitch — with locals disputing how much of it is actually farmland.

   Source: Planning Geek [C]

   Changes (4)

   1. 15 Oct 2026 — Added Sam Heughan's opposition, the £15.6bn investment framing, and the Scottish Government declining a pause while promising guidance by Christmas.
   2. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the Scottish Greens' portal figure (2,000+ objections in four days) and Moodie's greenhouse-gas claim.
   3. 12 Oct 2026 — Added the 40m assessed building height and the developer's December 2026 permission-in-principle target.
   4. 7 Oct 2026 — First filed.
4. 7 Oct 2026 Updated 13 Oct UK Fife, Scotland 600 MW Consultation open

   600MW campus planned beside a 1,000-year-old castle

   ILI Group's 600MW 'Cato' campus near Auchtertool would sit by Hallyards Castle; Historic Environment Scotland declined to designate the castle because the application is already underway, and Scotland has a de facto moratorium on new hyperscale consents. After 14,000+ representations, Fife Council has stopped accepting objections by email — the second council (after Dumfries and Galloway) to restrict submissions on a hyperscale application.

   Why it matters: Heritage, farmland and consent risk, while national rules are still being written.

   Source: Carbon Neutral Data Center [V]

   Changes (2)

   1. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the 14,000+ representations and Fife Council stopping email objections.
   2. 7 Oct 2026 — First filed.
5. 11 Oct 2026 Updated 13 Oct UK Gwynedd, Wales Consultation open

   Menai Strait campus draws 22,500-signature petition

   Gwelyfenai's ~41-hectare campus on the former Ferodo site between Caernarfon and Y Felinheli — up to five buildings with a proposed 450MW grid connection — now faces a 22,500+ signature petition and a protest of ~300 people on 10 Oct. Objectors cite scale, SSSI/SAC wildlife, water and the loss of agricultural land; the developer points to ~200 permanent jobs and closed-loop cooling. On 13 Oct the Welsh Government confirmed it has received a request to call the application in; Cyngor Gwynedd says it has had no direction and will still determine it unless ministers intervene.

   Why it matters: The same questions — scale, water, wildlife, and how many lasting local jobs — on the shore of a protected strait.

   Source: Bylines Cymru / North Wales Live [C]

   Changes (3)

   1. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the request for the Welsh Government to call the application in.
   2. 12 Oct 2026 — Petition updated to 22,500+; added the ~41ha site area and the proposed 450MW grid connection.
   3. 11 Oct 2026 — First filed.
6. 11 Oct 2026 World Visakhapatnam, India 1000 MW Consultation open

   Google's $15bn India campus faces local resistance

   Google's gigawatt-scale AI hub in Visakhapatnam — its biggest outside the US, part of a $15bn investment — is meeting protests; Google says it will use air cooling rather than the area's scarce water, but activists want a state-wide moratorium until the impacts are known.

   Why it matters: Air-versus-water cooling and the 'assess it first' demand — the campaign's exact questions, exported.

   Source: Gulf News / AFP [C]

7. 8 Oct 2026 UK Fife, Scotland 600 MW Consultation open

   Cato's 600MW campus meets a 1,000-year-old castle

   Remains of Hallyards Castle sit on land earmarked for ILI Energy's 600MW Cato data centre. Historic Environment Scotland declined a new designation because the application is already in train, and a full Environmental Impact Assessment has been directed.

   Why it matters: Heritage and farmland now sit alongside the climate and grid questions — the same collision, again.

   Source: DataCentral [V]