Luxembourg’s ecological movement, Mouveco, has come out firmly against the proposed Google data centre in Bissen, describing the project as having significant shortcomings as well as highly questionable aspects that could have harmful consequences for the country.
The public consultation on the environmental impact of the proposed facility closed this Friday, bringing to a head a debate that has divided opinion in Luxembourg for years. Mouveco filed a formal appeal against the project, arguing that Google has yet to commit to implementing the best available technology, despite the fact that the data centre would account for roughly 15% of Luxembourg’s total electricity consumption, more than all the country’s households combined.
The organisation’s objections fall into several categories. Chief among them is what Mouveco describes as non-compliance with current legislation, with key data on energy consumption and the cooling system withheld from public scrutiny on the grounds of trade secrecy. The group also takes issue with the project’s exorbitant electricity demands and the planned use of diesel generators rather than sustainable battery storage solutions.
Thus, Mouveco is calling for the procedure to be cancelled entirely. Should the organisation prevail, Google could be forced to undertake a comprehensive revision of the project, or face long delays to the approval process.
