The spate of planning applications across Scotland has proved a concern for people living near the proposed sites.
BBC Scotland News has previously spoken to residents worried about the noise and damage of construction, and who are fearful of knock-on effects of the centres themselves, particularly the large amounts of energy and water they consume.
On Monday public finance minister Hannah Mary Goodlad said there needed to be a balance between “the economic and employment interests in developing data centres” with “the potential impact on local communities”.
She said this was why planning authorities will be required to notify Scottish ministers of new data centre applications within seven days of validation – but only if they are more than 50 megawatts (MW) in power capacity.
Goodlad said this would support “strategic monitoring” of such planning applications and the implications for wider infrastructure in an area.
However, the new regulations would not affect DataVita’s Airdrie site, which has a 12MW capacity.
No data centres currently operational in Scotland have more than 50MW capacity, but the change could affect future sites.
Details on the proposed second site are not yet available.