While other regions in Europe and the US are rejecting datacenters because of their impact on energy, water and quality of life, Belgium is welcoming them with open arms.
During the Belgian trade mission to the United States, Google announced a €5 billion investment in our country to expand its cloud offering and AI infrastructure. A significant portion of that investment will go towards expanding the datacenter in Saint-Ghislain.
The Belgian government responded enthusiastically. Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) sees it as a “powerful sign of confidence in Belgium as a hub for digital innovation and sustainable growth”. Walloon Deputy Prime Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR) emphasised that the investment stimulates “innovation and economic activity around the site”.
Almost simultaneously, Amazon announced that it is investing 1 billion in Belgium. Big tech seems to have set its sights on our country. But before we pat ourselves on the back, we should ask ourselves whether this is a good sign. Or are big tech companies no longer welcome anywhere else?
Increasing protests
In the United States, local protests against datacenters are growing. More and more projects are being postponed or cancelled. Farmers are often leading the protests. They are concerned about the use of land, water and electricity, but also about light pollution, air quality and noise pollution. The growing energy demand of data centres poses a challenge for the electricity grid. They often negotiate favourable energy prices, which causes prices for other consumers, such as households, to rise. In their search for low-carbon energy, data centres are often built in regions with plenty of wind and sun, but also with water scarcity. The water consumption required to cool the servers then conflicts with the growing water scarcity caused by global warming.
In addition, datacenters have an emergency circuit to enable them to continue operating independently. To do this, they often use polluting gas or diesel turbines, which harm public health with their emissions of particulate matter.
Meta’s withdrawal
Datacenters are also becoming less welcome in Europe. Ten years ago, Ireland was one of the first countries to welcome big tech companies and their data centres, offering favourable tax rates and access to renewable energy. However, the high energy consumption led to resistance, as more than a fifth of total energy consumption went to datacenters. As a result, there is now a ban on connecting new data centres to the electricity grid.
The Netherlands is also popular for the construction of datacenters, but protests are growing there too. A plan by Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to build a huge data centre on agricultural land in Zeewolde led to strong local protests, petitions and political opposition. Opponents pointed to excessive energy consumption, loss of land and insufficient benefits for the local community. Under this pressure, Meta withdrew from the project and the Council of State overturned the zoning plan.
Lack of debate
When a new data centre is announced, the emphasis is often placed on the jobs it will create. However, the number of jobs is fairly limited, especially in relation to the amount of money invested. Temporary employment is created during construction, but once the datacenters are operational, few jobs remain, as they operate largely autonomously.
Google has announced that its investment of 5 billion euros will eventually lead to 300 additional jobs at the Saint-Ghislain site. Of course, a number of indirect jobs will also be created, but job creation still seems to be minimal.
For the time being, few details are known about Google’s concrete plans in Belgium, making it difficult to estimate the impact. What is known is that the current data centre in Saint-Ghislain consumes a relatively large amount of water. In 2022, this amounted to 1.44 million cubic metres, albeit mostly non-potable water.
At the same time as the announcement, Google announced wind energy partnerships with Eneco, Luminus and Renner. In this way, Google is stimulating the development of renewable energy in Belgium. However, high electricity consumption is putting further pressure on the already overloaded electricity grid. Earlier this year, grid operators Elia and Fluvius warned that the grid cannot cope. In addition, the high demand for renewable energy could also drive up the price of green electricity for smaller consumers.
Google’s announcement to invest in Belgium sounds impressive, but it needs to be looked at critically. While other regions in Europe and the US are banning data centres because of their impact on energy, water and quality of life, Belgium is welcoming them with open arms. However, the promised jobs are in stark contrast to the investment and the potential social costs. There are no public cost-benefit analyses, and the lack of transparency about the impact is worrying. There has also been no democratic debate or public consultation about this mega-project.
Wim Casteels is a data scientist and coordinates the IT & AI specialisation at Artesis Plantijn University College in Antwerp.
This article was previously published in the financial newspaper De Tijd.
