Everybody else may be complaining about the weather in Scotland, but for one IT company it’s the backbone of their business plan.

Inverness, normally famed for its Loch Ness monster and popular Highland Games festival, will soon be the home of a £20million eco-friendly data centre. The centre. which is backed by partners Microsoft, is part of a plan to regenerate Inverness Harbour and hopefully provide around 400 new jobs.

Alchemy Plus, which understands the normal costs involved in running a datacentre, plans to run the centre using hydroelectric and wind power schemes. Cooling, which normally is a major cost for datacentres, will not be a burden thanks to the cold Scottish weather. Alchemy Plus then plans to recycle the generated heat, piping it into nearby offices, shops and a hotel.

Although it is still only in the planning stages, Alchemy Plus and Microsoft hope to have the company up and running by the end of 2010.