\n However, recent innovations mean that AI data centres can be filled up once with one megalitre (one million litres) of water, topped up by 2% of that volume annually, he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hunter said: \u201cThere\u2019s been a huge amount of misinformation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n He said that while the evaporative cooling method \u2013 which pumps air cooled by water, which must be continually replenished, through the system \u2013 used vast quantities of water, the new method used an almost fixed volume that was better for the environment.\n<\/p>\n
\n null (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe would be using what is known as a closed-loop system,\u201d Hunter said. It works in \u201cvery much the same way as your car engine cools itself, or your fridge cools itself\u201d, he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe likes of our [planned] 250 megawatt facility in West Hermiston, that would be filling the system up as about the same amount of water as an Olympic-sized swimming pool,\u201d said Hunter.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThen you\u2019d be topping up that water on an annual basis of about 2%, so there\u2019d be about 2% losses.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cFundamentally, the narrative has been completely wrong.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Hunter also played down concerns over the amount of energy used by AI data centres, saying that Scotland\u2019s energy production outpaced demand.\n<\/p>\n
\n READ MORE: King Charles flogs off chance to catch endangered Scottish salmon at Balmoral<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n He said: \u201cI don\u2019t think that we can get away from the fact that these facilities do use large amounts of electricity.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n But Hunter added: \u201cFrom a Scottish perspective, I think it\u2019s really important to note that, when looking at electricity, we\u2019re producing more electricity on an annual basis than we can, than the UK can use.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI think last year we produced 130% of electricity that Scotland needed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Because the infrastructure is not in place to take the excess amount down south, that means Scots are currently paying for power generation to be switched off, he said.\n<\/p>\n \n \n \u201cThat\u2019s the curtailment charges that you might be familiar with that are passed back to us as billpayers,\u201d said Hunter. \u201cThat\u2019s currently sitting at \u00a31 billion, projected to rise to \u00a33bn by 2030.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n He added: \u201cFrom a Scottish perspective, electricity is not something that is in short supply.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n It has been argued that Scotland could be at the forefront of AI growth in the UK<\/a>, with the country\u2019s cooler climate better for hosting supercomputers, which must be closely guarded against overheating.\n<\/p>\n \n \n However there are significant concerns about the energy-intensive industry. We revealed earlier in the month how planned data centres in Edinburgh would require the same amount of electricity as would building five cities<\/a> the same size as the capital within its boundaries.\n<\/p>\n \n And developers are not required to submit environmental impact assessments to local authorities which decide on awarding planning permission, which campaigners say means that companies are getting away with not revealing the true impact of projects.\n<\/p>\n \n Concerns are also mounting that the AI bull market may be a \u201cbubble\u201d \u2013 and one due to burst soon.\n<\/p>\nTransmission towers from the Beauly to Denny overhead line (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
A view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill (Image: Colin Mearns)\n<\/p>\n