Residents of Auchtertool, a small village in Fife of around 200 houses, have objected en masse to plans for what would be the world's second largest data centre, to be built right next to their community. Campaigners say the facility, covering an area larger than 100 football pitches, could raise local temperatures by up to nine degrees, generate constant heat and noise, and harm wildlife and livestock, drawing comparisons with similar sites in Nevada that have reportedly caused environmental problems. The scheme matters because it highlights growing tension in Scotland between the push to host energy-hungry data infrastructure, aided by abundant renewable power, and the concerns of small communities facing developments on an industrial scale.

The proposal, put forward by developer ILI, has attracted more than 1,600 objections, with protest banners displayed across the village on homes, cars and in the park. Locals including Fiona Stewart and community council chair Andrea Cail have raised concerns about light and noise pollution, flood risk given the site's history of flooding, and the lack of a clear regulatory framework, calling on Scotland's First Minister to pause the plans. Residents are planning to protest at Holyrood on 3 September alongside campaigners from Larbert, where a comparable data centre proposal, opposed by locals including singer Susan Boyle, is also under way; developers argue the Auchtertool project would create hundreds of jobs.