East Lothian

Cockenzie (former coal store)

East Lothian Council & SDCL
Announced3 sources200 MWLarge
Where it stands3 independent sources
  1. Announced
  2. Proposal notice
  3. Application
  4. Decision
  5. Built

Announced, but no proposal notice has been lodged with the council yet.

Have your say · council applicationNo application to comment on yet. At proposal stage, comments go to the developer's public events.How to have your say
Size200 MWLarge5.0% of Scotland's winter peak demand
SurroundingsNot assessed: no application site to measure from yet.
Public responseNo public comments published yet.
How the flags work

Red: nearest building within 100 m, 10% or more of the site in a flood zone, or a designation overlapping the site. Amber: building within 500 m, any flood-zone overlap, or a designation within 500 m. Green: none of these. Measured from the council's application site; buildings from OpenStreetMap, flood zones from SEPA, designations from NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland.

Overview

Council-led joint venture with SDCL as preferred bidder. Power works could start in 2029, subject to consent.

Sources disagree: 200MW comes from APRS; the council and press have not published a capacity.

The developer's case

The council presents the scheme as an opportunity for jobs, training and energy investment on the former power station site. The developer meets the two local community councils quarterly. East Lothian Council East Lothian Council

Council report, Jun 2026 ↗

Jobs in context

Permanent jobs claimedNone published
At the 1.6 per MW study averageabout 320for 200 MW
Industry modeltechUK, based on older, smaller sites8.5
Planned UK sitesVerdant study of 20 schemes, 20261.6
QTS Cambois, Northumberland720 MW, about 400 jobs0.56

Permanent jobs per megawatt of capacity.

Construction jobs are real but temporary. Figures for "job-years", "jobs supported" or "indirect" jobs count work elsewhere in the economy, not people on site. The per-MW measure comes from the think tank Verdant; techUK says it misses jobs supported outside the site, and the UK Government calls it misleading. The Next Web Resultsense

Site and design

LandFormer power station coal store East Lothian Council
Worth knowing: No jobs figures yet. The statutory public consultation is still to come.

The opening lines summarise in our own words how the developer presents the scheme. Items marked Claim are the developer's own figures, not independently checked.

The objectors' case

No organised objection or formal objections found yet. Know of a campaign group? Use Report incorrect data at the top of the page.

Planning

Where it stands: Not yet in planning.

  1. Proposal of application noticeNot found on the council portal
  2. EIA screening or scopingNot found on the council portal
  3. Planning application lodgedNot yet lodged
  4. Council decision
Site location: no planning application yet, so there is no application site to map. The position shown is approximate.
Council East Lothian Council: no planning application yet; the project is at council joint-venture stage. Searched 18 Oct 2026.

Rules that apply

  • Over 50MW, the council must notify Scottish Ministers within seven days of validating an application (in force since 17 Aug 2026). Scottish Government
  • Over 50MW, an Environmental Impact Assessment is now mandatory (Direction of 16 Sep 2026), including for applications already in the system. Scottish Government
  • On 16 Sep 2026 MSPs backed pausing planning decisions on large data centres for up to 12 months while national guidance is drafted, expected by December 2026. Resultsense
  • For a major development, the developer must lodge a proposal of application notice and hold at least two public events, and cannot submit the application until 12 weeks after the notice.

Search the East Lothian planning portal for the latest documents, consultee responses and public comments.

Sources