- Chilean Environmental Court partially revokes Google’s permit to construct a data center in the country, requiring the company to resubmit its application considering the impact of climate change.
- Google spokesperson states that the company will continue collaborating with local authorities.
Google initially received preliminary authorization of the Cerrillos Data Center that they will invest $200 million in Santiago in early 2020. However, due to Chile’s decade-long drought and the substantial water requirements for data servers annually, the project faced strong protests from residents and local officials. The court on Tuesday partially revoked the permit, requiring Google to modify its application to account for the effects of climate change.
Stringent environmental review
Chile’s Environmental Court partially refused Google’s permit to build a data center in the country, demanding modifications to the application considering the impact of climate change.
Google received preliminary authorization for the Cerrillos Data Center in Santiago in early 2020. However, the ongoing drought in Chile raised concerns about the potential exacerbation of water scarcity due to the data center’s construction. The project has faced strong protests from residents and local officials, fearing adverse effects on the capital’s aquifer.
The court instructed Google to ” taking the effects of climate change into account if it is possible, as well as some modifications of the cooling system for servers associated with the project.”
Positive collaboration
A Google spokesperson affirmed that the company’s commitment to collaborating with local authorities. They’ve submitted the new design in February 2022, shifting to an air-cooling system for the center.
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