CX Technology Campus, Chapelcross
CX Tech has applied to Dumfries and Galloway Council for planning permission in principle for a campus of eight data centres on about 57ha of land north of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station, near Annan. It is reported at 1GW and £16.5bn, with up to 162,000 sqm of data-centre floorspace in buildings up to 40m high, built in phases from 2027 to 2035. The Scottish Government has paused decisions on large data centres until the end of 2026, and local campaigners and APRS oppose the scheme. No operator or tenant is named.
Key facts
- Operator / developer
- CX Tech Limited
- Location
- Land north of the former Chapelcross nuclear power station, near Annan, Annan, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Status
- Proposed
- Facility type
- Data centre
- AI relevance
- Not stated
- Floor area
- 162,000 m²
- Stated investment
- £16,500,000,000
- Construction jobs
- 750
- Permanent jobs
- 540
Power & grid
- Published capacity
- 1,000 MW — Reported capacity, definition not publishedA megawatt figure was reported but the source does not define what it measures, so it is excluded from every total.
- Grid position
- Grid connection application status not published
- Grid connection
- 132kV infrastructure is present at the site; SP Energy Networks refurbished the 14.23km Gretna to Chapelcross line in August 2026. No grid connection agreement for the campus has been published.
- Power
- Reported as a 1GW campus of eight data centres. Sources do not say whether this is IT load or total demand, and the developer's pre-application notice gives no power figure. Campaigners estimate annual demand of about 7 million MWh.
- On-site generation
- Developer is exploring private-wire links to nearby wind, solar and biomass generation and possible energy storage; it cites 1GW of renewable generation within 5km and 2GW within 20km.
- Water
- Developer says each building would use about as much water as four homes a year.
- Cooling
- Closed-loop, non-evaporative air cooling; target PUE of 1.30 or better (trade press reporting of the developer's plans).
- PUE target
- 1.3
Planning
- Planning route
- Scottish PPiP
- Land area
- 57 ha
Benefits vs drawbacks
Benefits
- About £16.5bn investment (developer figure)Source
- About 750 construction jobs over eight years and about 540 permanent roles (developer figures; some reports say 450)Source
- Next to a former nuclear site with existing 132kV grid infrastructure and nearby renewable generationSource
- Closed-loop air cooling with low water use and a target PUE of 1.30Source
Drawbacks
- At 1GW it would exceed any data centre now operating; campaigners put demand at about 7 million MWh a yearSource
- Local petition of about 1,000 signatures; APRS and campaigners cite loss of farmland and woodland, emissions and landscape impactSource
- Scottish Government has paused data-centre decisions until the end of 2026Source
- No operator, tenant or grid connection agreement publishedSource
About 40 apprenticeships a year during construction and an on-site training centre; the developer refers to a Community Wealth Building approach.
Timeline
Sources
- Proposal of Application Notice Report: Chapelcross Technology Campus
Secondary source · CX Power Limited / Quod (pre-application notice report, primary) · 2026-05-11
- CX Technology Campus
Secondary source · CX Tech (developer, primary)
- Large-scale data centre planned for former Scottish nuclear site
Secondary source · Capacity (secondary) · 2026-10-02
- CX Tech submits plans for 1GW Chapelcross data centre campus
Secondary source · Data Centre Review (secondary) · 2026-10-01
- Plans submitted for 'world's largest' data centre at former Chapelcross nuclear power station
Secondary source · STV News (secondary) · 2026-09-30
Last verified
2 October 2026
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