Goodman’s Japanese data center under fire following Sydney site setback

Goodman Group, Australia's largest property firm, faces criticism over its largest data centre project in Japan, following the cancellation of a similar plan in Sydney due to local opposition. The project, expected to become one of the country's biggest data centre campuses with a capacity of 1 gigawatt, is under scrutiny from local residents due to concerns about its impact on power grids, water supplies, and the environment.

Situated in Tsukuba, Japan, the 45-hectare site next to residential buildings, a hospital, and a nursing home has residents who claim they were unaware of the project's scale until construction began in February. Hiroyuki Yanagimachi, who formed a residents' group to seek more information, said that the project was initially presented as a logistics warehouse but later revealed to be a data centre, sparking suspicion among the local community.

Residents' group members have collected around 800 signatures for a public town hall meeting and sent letters to Goodman requesting an open information session. Despite this communication, the group has not received a response from the company. Goodman has stated that its door remains open to meet the head of the residents' association and address their concerns, and it plans to hold information meetings with residents in a format decided after consultation with municipal authorities.

The Japan Data Center Council, an industry body of which Goodman is a member, emphasized the importance of consultation in a May guideline, stating that operators should view engagement as a forum for discussion and mutual understanding, not a one-sided report. Goodman has claimed to have exceeded legal requirements and those set out in guidelines, holding its first information sessions with a few dozen Tsukuba residents over two evenings in August.

However, the attendees expressed distrust, describing the event as a hospitality event rather than an informative gathering.