{
  "id": 4890121,
  "title": "Les datacenters énergivores se développent en Europe, la résistance aussi",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/les-datacenters-energivores-se-developpent-en-europe-la-resistance",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-01T15:44:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Politico EU",
    "slug": "politico-eu",
    "url": "https://www.politico.eu/article/les-datacenters-energivores-se-developpent-en-europe-la-resistance-aussi/"
  },
  "original_language": "fr",
  "account": "In the tranquil Austrian village of Kronstorf, nestled in the foothills of the Alps, a significant construction project is underway that could soon outstrip the electricity consumption of all local households combined. The culprit? Google, which is building Europe's first hyperscale data center in the outskirts of the small commune. In the long run, this site could consume the equivalent of 7% of Austria's current electricity demand. However, a growing resistance to the project could undermine Google's ambitions.\n\nLocal opposition, concerned about the voracious energy consumption of the data center and wary of the dominance of a U.S. tech giant, is fighting to halt its expansion. Harald Müllner, a computer science expert from nearby Linz and co-founder of a local collective opposing the data center, asserts, \"We really want to give them something to grapple with.\" Their protests and petitions against Google's plans mirror a trend observed on the other side of the Atlantic, where Democrats are riding a wave of growing opposition to data centers ahead of the U.S. midterm elections this year. President Donald Trump even sided with Big Tech, stating on social media that communities opposing data centers \"will end up being backward and poor.\"\n\nAcross Europe, activists are challenging projects in France, while in Italy, residents are protesting certain projects. In Ireland, where data centers already consume a fifth of total electricity, opponents have unsuccessfully attempted to block construction through the courts. However, concerns about data centers in Europe have so far been met with the fear of governments about the continent falling behind the United States and China in the race for artificial intelligence. \"We cannot claim greater European sovereignty in AI while constantly erecting new obstacles that impede the very infrastructure on which it depends,\" stated Elisabeth Zehetner, Austria's State Secretary for Energy, regarding calls to strengthen regulation for large-scale data centers like Kronstorf.\n\nThe European Union plans to triple its data center capacity by 2035. Brussels and national governments are committed to removing regulatory barriers that hinder the growth of artificial intelligence while claiming it can be sustainable. Austrian environmentalists remain skeptical. \"An hyperscale data center is inherently unsustainable. It is simply gigantic,\" argues Christina Gruber, a freshwater ecologist who is campaigning against the Kronstorf data center. \"There are so many factors: the conversion of arable land, this extreme thirst for energy, the consumption of water,\" she continues. \"And the more important question that hangs over all this is simply: 'Is it worth it?'\"\n\nAs Harald Müllner and Christina Gruber sit in the scorching heat of August by the immense construction site, a constant stream of trucks pass by the main entrance, transporting debris and operating excavators. A small pond, meant to serve as wildlife habitat, has been dubbed the \"Google biotope.\"",
  "summary": "Des militants s’opposent à l’implantation d’un immense centre de données de Google dans la campagne autrichienne.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}