San Francisco Frontiers - Google data centre sparks protests in Austria

They have staged protests against the 50-hectare (123 acre) complex, in a case that has become symbolic of global debate about the environmental and societal costsof the AI boom.

"I believe we need a rethink when it comes to this endless growth and expansion," protest organiser Christina Gruber told AFP as around 400 people gathered outside the headquarters of the regional government in Linz.

Gruber, a 38-year-old freelance artist and aquatic ecologist who lives in Amstetten, close to Kronstorf in Upper Austria province, is concerned about the effects of AI on climate change and the amount of water used to cool data centres.

She also criticised a "lack of transparency" around the project, complaining that residents were not asked whether they "want to sacrifice our water resources on these huge data centres". Kronstorf has about 3,500 people.

While Europe lags far behind the United States in data centre capacity, there are already hundreds of data centres across the continent, with many more planned as it looks to strengthen its AI and cloud infrastructure.

But protests have grown as the AI boom accelerates, including in Spain where residents of the Aragon region have launched legal action against a massive data centre buildout by Amazon.

The Dutch city of Amsterdam has imposed a moratorium on construction of new data centres over space and power concerns, while Denmark has moved data centres to the bottom of its priority list for grid connections, warning of the strain on its power grid.

- 'Strong signal' -

Francesca Musiani, an internet specialist at the French National Center for Scientific Research, told AFP that while digital infrastructure has traditionally been "fairly remote from the daily lives of citizens... with data centres, all the material implications of (this) infrastructure are more evident".

Protests have exposed "tension between this rapid expansion of AI and climate objectives" and raised broader questions about digital governance in Europe, she said.

"For me, this is part of what sovereignty should mean in practice: the capacity of different levels of society to participate in shaping the infrastructures on which they depend."

Construction of Google's first data centre in Austria began in April, following a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by politicians and company representatives.

The facility is being built on a site the size of around 70 football pitches, with the first phase expected to become operational in 2027.

Google has not disclosed the cost of the project, describing it only as a "significant investment".

The US tech giant says the centre will support growing demand for cloud and AI services, create around 100 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs, help strengthen Austria's digital infrastructure, and contribute to local sustainability initiatives.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Thomas Stelzer, the governor of Upper Austria, said the centre would send "a strong signal for Upper Austria as a business and innovation location".

The Upper Austrian government and the local mayor did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

- 'Wrong direction' -

Google says its data centres are among the most energy-efficient in the world, but critics argue that even highly efficient facilities can consume vast amounts of electricity and water.

In Kronstorf, the first phase alone could consume up to 1.31 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, according to media reports -- roughly the annual consumption of 375,000 households.

Opponents also bemoan a lack of transparency around the project and unanswered questions about the cooling systems, water use and their impact on the River Enns.

Andrea Kollmann, 53, a lawyer who travelled from Vienna for the protest in Linz, said the project had advanced "much too quickly" and that "everything is extremely non-transparent, nobody knows anything".

Filmmaker Alex Stockinger, 27, who also lives near Kronstorf, said that during Austria's record-breaking hot summer this year, "you could really feel what the climate crisis is like".

"And in a situation like that, using so much electricity is the wrong direction," he said.

M.Hill--SFF