Argyll Data Development has signed a landmark deal with AI infrastructure company SambaNova to build the UK’s first sovereign AI cloud in Scotland, powered entirely by renewable energy, marking a major step towards sustainable data sovereignty and low-carbon artificial intelligence.
Who Is Behind The Project?
Two companies from opposite sides of the Atlantic are joining forces to redefine how AI infrastructure is built, powered and controlled. Argyll Data Development is a Scottish developer specialising in renewable powered digital infrastructure. Formed in 2023, the company’s goal is to establish a new model for data centres that combine energy independence with AI capability. Its flagship venture, the Killellan AI Growth Zone, will transform a 184-acre industrial site on Scotland’s Cowal Peninsula into a green digital campus that hosts both renewable energy generation and high-performance computing.
The other partner, California-based SambaNova Systems, founded in 2017 by former Sun, Oracle and Stanford engineers, designs specialised processors and software platforms for running advanced AI models efficiently. Its technology is already being used by governments, research institutions and enterprises to train and run large language models, with a growing focus on sovereign AI, meaning infrastructures where data stays under national control rather than being processed by global cloud giants.
First Fully Renewable Powered AI Inference Cloud
The new partnership will see Argyll and SambaNova create the UK’s first fully renewable powered AI inference cloud, where AI models are hosted and operated rather than trained. The facility will be built at Killellan Farm near Dunoon on Scotland’s Cowal Peninsula, forming the centrepiece of Argyll’s 184-acre Killellan AI Growth Zone. It will deploy SambaNova’s SN40L systems, a new air-cooled design that uses roughly one tenth of the power of conventional GPU systems, allowing high-density computing without energy-hungry liquid cooling.
Argyll will build and manage the data centre infrastructure and on-site renewable energy network, while SambaNova will supply and operate the AI platform. According to both companies, the project will provide UK enterprises with a secure and sustainable environment to develop and deploy AI systems, all within British borders.
First Phase
The first phase of the Killellan development will deliver between 100 and 600 megawatts of capacity, with plans to scale to more than 2 gigawatts once complete. It will run on a private-wire renewable network using on-site wind, wave and solar power, combined with vanadium flow battery storage for long-duration energy supply. This design will allow the facility to operate independently from the national grid in “island mode”, while still being engineered for future grid integration.
Why It’s Different From Other Data Centres
The Killellan AI Growth Zone stands apart from most data centres for reasons of sovereignty, sustainability and circularity. For example:
1. Its sovereign design. Data sovereignty has become a growing issue for both public and private sector organisations. It refers to keeping sensitive data and AI workloads within the same legal jurisdiction in which they originate. Argyll’s platform will ensure data processed at Killellan remains entirely within UK regulatory and security frameworks.
2. Its renewable-first approach. Instead of relying on grid power supplemented by renewable energy certificates, Argyll intends to generate all its electricity on-site using wind, wave and solar resources from the Cowal Peninsula. Vanadium flow batteries will store excess power, offering more stability than traditional lithium-ion systems.
3. The closed-loop design. Waste heat from the data halls, a by-product of high-intensity computing, will be captured and reused to support vertical farming, aquaculture and local district heating. The company says this will help the site operate as a “circular” digital ecosystem, recycling both energy and heat to minimise waste.
According to Peter Griffiths, executive chairman at Argyll, the project shows that “sustainability and scale can go hand in hand.” He said the goal is not only to make AI greener but also “competitive, compliant and cost-effective.”
Impact On Argyll And SambaNova
For Argyll, the project defines its core mission to create net zero infrastructure that advances UK energy and AI strategies simultaneously. The Killellan site is the company’s first major step in building large-scale digital capacity powered by renewable energy.
For SambaNova, it marks another milestone in a series of global sovereign AI projects. The firm has already supported similar renewable powered AI infrastructures in Australia and Germany. Rodrigo Liang, co-founder and CEO of SambaNova, described Argyll as “a blueprint for scaling AI responsibly”, adding that its systems are “enabling large-model inference with maximum performance per watt, while helping enterprises and governments maintain full control over their data and energy footprint.”
Economic And Regional Benefits
Argyll expects the project to attract up to £15 billion in total investment and create more than 2,000 construction jobs a year, along with 1,200 long-term operational roles. The company forecasts that it will contribute roughly £734 million annually to Scotland’s Gross Value Added once fully operational.
Located near Dunoon, the development also offers a powerful example of regional regeneration. The Cowal Peninsula has a long industrial history but limited modern investment. By repurposing the former quarry site into a hub for green digital infrastructure, Argyll hopes to revitalise the area and support new skills in engineering, energy and technology.
Also, the integration of local education partners, including Dunoon Grammar School and the University of Strathclyde, will aim to build a pipeline of digital and energy sector talent. The company says this collaboration will support both academic research and workforce development tied to the UK’s AI and net zero ambitions.
Users
For UK businesses, especially those handling regulated or confidential information, a sovereign AI cloud could solve two persistent problems, i.e., data security and compliance. For example, many enterprises currently rely on overseas cloud providers, raising questions about data handling, jurisdiction and privacy. Argyll’s system will give companies a domestic alternative. With its combination of renewable energy and energy-efficient hardware, it promises not only a smaller carbon footprint but also predictable energy costs insulated from volatile wholesale markets.
Industries such as finance, healthcare, logistics and energy could also benefit. For example, banks running fraud detection models or hospitals processing medical imaging data could use the cloud to keep sensitive workloads inside the UK while meeting environmental commitments.
Other Global Initiatives
Argyll’s model actually reflects a growing international trend towards sovereign, renewable AI infrastructure. For example, in Australia, SambaNova has partnered with SouthernCrossAI to develop SCX, the country’s first ASIC-based sovereign AI cloud powered entirely by renewables. In Germany, Infercom is preparing to launch an AI inference platform built on SambaNova technology, designed for GDPR-compliant, energy-efficient operation across the EU.
Elsewhere, hyperscale providers such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon have begun to invest heavily in renewable energy contracts for their European and US data centres. However, most still rely on external power purchase agreements rather than self-contained renewable generation, and few operate under fully sovereign data frameworks. Argyll’s combination of on-site renewables, energy storage and UK-only data jurisdiction makes it a distinctive model within this global landscape.
Sustainability And The Future Of AI Infrastructure
AI computing has become one of the fastest growing sources of data centre energy consumption. Recent studies have estimated that global AI workloads could consume as much power annually as a small country by the end of the decade. Projects like Killellan are, therefore, being closely watched as test cases for whether large-scale AI operations can be powered sustainably.
If successful, the site could demonstrate how renewables and advanced computing can coexist without compromising either capacity or carbon goals. Its closed-loop design, where heat and power are continually reused, offers a new benchmark for future AI and cloud campuses.
Challenges And Criticisms
Despite its ambition, the project faces several considerable challenges. For example, the technical complexity of generating hundreds of megawatts of renewable power on-site, combined with long-duration battery storage and the demands of AI cooling, will require significant capital investment and coordination.
There are also practical questions about whether it can truly operate entirely on renewable energy throughout the year. Variability in wind and solar output may still require grid imports unless the storage capacity is large enough to cover prolonged gaps. Independent monitoring will be important to verify the site’s energy sourcing and net zero claims.
Environmental groups are also likely to scrutinise its local impact. For example, while the site’s heat reuse and clean energy credentials are strong, data centre developments of this scale can still affect local ecosystems, landscapes and transport routes. Ensuring transparent consultation and equitable community benefits will be vital if the project is to maintain public support.
For the wider industry, Argyll’s venture highlights the pressure facing data centre developers worldwide to decarbonise operations and localise control of AI infrastructure. The success or failure of the Killellan AI Growth Zone could influence how other countries, and indeed major cloud providers, design the next generation of green, sovereign data campuses.
What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?
If the Killellan AI Growth Zone delivers on its promises, it could mark a turning point for both the data centre industry and the UK’s digital economy. By proving that high-performance AI computing can run on home-grown renewable energy, Argyll and SambaNova are attempting to demonstrate that energy security, data sovereignty and sustainability can all be achieved together rather than traded off against one another. This approach directly aligns with the UK’s ambitions to develop a competitive but responsible AI sector that also contributes to national net zero targets.
For UK businesses, access to a secure and fully sovereign AI cloud powered by renewable energy could give organisations in regulated sectors a compliant and lower-carbon alternative to global hyperscalers. It may also make advanced AI services more cost predictable by stabilising energy costs and reducing exposure to international data rules. For enterprises building or deploying AI, from financial firms to healthcare providers, that combination of energy independence and regulatory assurance could become a key differentiator in the years ahead.
For the Scottish economy, the project means that thousands of construction and long-term jobs are expected, along with skills partnerships and secondary industries such as vertical farming and district heating. However, local engagement and environmental transparency will determine whether those benefits are shared fairly and whether the project sets a genuine precedent for sustainable regional development.
For the wider data centre industry, Killellan is also likely to be a test case for a new model of infrastructure, one that links renewables, storage and high-density computing in a single closed system. If it succeeds, it could influence how sovereign AI facilities are built across Europe and beyond. If it struggles to meet its energy and performance goals, it will still serve as a valuable lesson on the limits of scaling AI sustainably. Either way, the project has already shown that the future of AI infrastructure will depend not only on processing power, but on how responsibly that power is generated, managed and shared.