Santiago, Chile – Googlehas abandoned its plans to build a $200 million data center in Santiago, Chile, after facing strong opposition over environmental concerns. The company announced on Tuesday that it would restart the project from scratch, citing concerns about the potential impact on the Chilean capital’senvironment.
The decision comes after a local environmental court partially overturned a 2020 permit allowing the construction of the data center in February. The courtordered Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to revise its application to address the potential impact of climate change.
The project, initially approved in early 2020, has been met with fierce resistance from residents and local officials sinceits inception. They expressed concerns about the potential strain the data center would place on the city’s already depleted aquifer.
Chile has been grappling with a severe drought for over a decade, and data servers require millions of liters of water annuallyfor cooling. The data center’s water consumption was a major point of contention, particularly in a region facing water scarcity.
We will no longer pursue the project license for the installation of the data center in the Cerrillos community, which was originally submitted and approved in 2020, Google informed the Chilean environmentalregulatory agency. A new process will be initiated from scratch at the appropriate time for a project using air-cooled technology in this location, the company added.
The decision to abandon the project marks a significant setback for Google’s expansion plans in Latin America. The company had been eyeing Chile as a strategic location for itsdata infrastructure, aiming to serve the growing digital market in the region.
However, the environmental concerns raised by local communities and the court ruling have forced Google to reconsider its approach. The company’s decision to restart the project from scratch suggests a willingness to address the concerns and engage in a more collaborative process with stakeholders.
Theshift towards air-cooled technology is a positive step in terms of reducing water consumption. Air-cooled data centers rely on fans and other mechanisms to dissipate heat, minimizing the need for water-intensive cooling systems.
This decision also highlights the growing importance of environmental considerations in large-scale infrastructure projects. As technology companies continue toexpand their operations globally, they are increasingly facing scrutiny over their environmental impact.
Google’s decision to abandon the Chilean data center project serves as a reminder that sustainable development must be at the forefront of all business decisions. The company’s commitment to restarting the project with a focus on environmental sustainability is a positive sign,but it remains to be seen whether the new proposal will address the concerns of the local community and gain approval.
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