Protest Against the Data Center:

“Google Reaps the Profits, Kronstorf Bears the Consequences”

Since it became known that the data center will be even larger, criticism of the project has been mounting.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

Nearly 100 participants protested on Friday next to the construction site of the Google data center in Kronstorf. A citizens’ initiative is calling for more transparency regarding the massive project. And at the federal level, too, there’s a heated debate surrounding the environmental impact assessment.

“I’m from Enns, and as a child I was told that this is where the most fertile soil is—and now it’s all being sold off,” says Reinhilde (65). She is one of nearly 100 protesters who gathered Friday afternoon next to the construction site of the server farm in Kronstorf, which is difficult for the public to access. As reported, internet giant Google is building a data center there on 50 hectares with a reported investment in the billions.

The protest was organized by the citizens’ initiative “Rechenzentrum Kronstorf.” The participants’ signs bear slogans such as “Google rakes in the profits, Kronstorf pays the price” and “Hands off our water, hands off our electricity.” Participant Angelika (68) from Steyr is “here for the sake of my grandson’s future, so that our natural resources aren’t exploited.” And Gerhard (67) from Bahemberg says, “We want to protest the lack of information; we can’t stop the construction anyway.” The citizens’ initiative is calling for greater transparency regarding the massive project, the utilization of the waste heat generated by server operations, and an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Data centers are not currently subject to an EIA
The citizens’ initiative’s demands thus reflect what is also being hotly debated in political circles: On Friday, following the Greens, the federal SPÖ also called for a revision of the EIA law. This is because, to date, the law does not automatically require an environmental assessment for the construction of data centers—which are now springing up one after another due to the AI boom—and so Google in Kronstorf was also able to proceed without one. The environmental organization Global 2000 proposes introducing a mandatory EIA requirement for data centers with a connected load of 50 megawatts or more. By way of comparison: Google has reserved 150 megawatts for the first expansion phase of its server farm alone.

However, the chancellor’s party rejected a blanket EIA requirement for data centers: “We cannot call for more European sovereignty in AI while at the same time hindering the very infrastructure on which it relies by imposing ever-new hurdles,” says ÖVP State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner.

Google Responds to Environmental Criticism
Google itself plans to bring its data center online in 2027 as part of the first phase of expansion—and all necessary permits have already been granted. Google counters criticism of potential negative environmental impacts—the U.S. company is permitted to draw cooling water for its servers from a bank filtrate of the Enns River and subsequently return it to the Enns at a temperature of around 30 degrees—by stating: According to the expert report on which the water rights permit is based, the impact on the Enns River is so minimal “that it was classified as negligible by the official experts.” “For example, there will no longer be any measurable temperature difference at the Mühlrading power plant, which is located in the immediate vicinity,” says Google, which emphasizes: “Operations will remain well below the maximum limit specified in the water permit during normal operation.”

Regulatory proceedings are currently underway for the next expansion phase—the U.S. company plans to build its server farm about one and a half times larger than previously approved.