Greenock Data Centre Spango Valley IBM Site Scotland 80000 sqm AI Campus

Status: Proposed / Planning Permission in Principle (PPP) Application Submitted   |   Location: Former IBM Site, Spango Valley, Inverkip Road, Greenock PA16 0AH, Scotland, UK

Project Overview

The Greenock Data Centre is a proposed £500+ million hyperscale and AI digital infrastructure campus on the 80,000-square-metre former IBM manufacturing site in Spango Valley, Greenock, Scotland, representing a major redevelopment of an established industrial location for next-generation computing infrastructure. Developed by Slate Island Developments Ltd., the master plan proposes four data center buildings designed to support high-density cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other power-intensive digital workloads. A key feature of the development is its planned approximately 99 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), which is intended to operate alongside the data center campus to improve energy management and provide additional flexibility for grid operations. The combination of large-scale computing infrastructure and co-located energy storage is particularly relevant as AI workloads create increasingly significant and variable electricity requirements. The former IBM site also provides a substantial development footprint for a multi-building campus while allowing the project to repurpose previously developed industrial land. The facility is planned with precision closed-loop cooling systems, supporting efficient thermal management while reducing reliance on conventional cooling approaches. Scotland's relatively cool ambient climate can further support efficient cooling operations, potentially reducing the energy required to maintain appropriate operating temperatures for high-density computing equipment. The project also aims to leverage abundant local renewable energy resources, aligning its power strategy with Scotland's expanding low-carbon electricity infrastructure. The BESS could help manage fluctuations in renewable generation and data center demand while improving the flexibility of the site's overall energy system. By combining four planned data center buildings, a large industrial redevelopment site, approximately 99 MW of battery storage and advanced closed-loop cooling, the Greenock development is structured as more than a conventional data center facility. Its energy-storage strategy and access to renewable electricity could provide an important infrastructure advantage as operators seek reliable and efficient power for AI and hyperscale workloads. The project could therefore contribute to the continued development of Scotland's digital infrastructure while demonstrating how large computing campuses can integrate energy storage, renewable power and efficient cooling into their operational design.

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