Google says it will reconsider plans for major data center in Chile over water concerns

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Google said Tuesday it will halt plans to build a massive $200 million data center in Chile to address environmental concerns, a move that reflects growing concerns about the impact of energy-guzzling projects around the world.

The American technology company first received permits to build the massive project in the Chilean capital Santiago in 2020. Demand for the server farms has surged globally, fueled by a rise in cloud-based technologies and a craze for generative AI.

But months after a Chilean court partially revoked the center’s permit over concerns about water use, Google announced Tuesday that it would revise the project to meet stricter environmental standards and change its water-intensive cooling system.

“A new process starts from scratch,” Google said in its statement. “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and the way we design and operate our data centers is no exception.”

Community complaints in the drought-stricken South American country about the air-conditioned computer farm’s energy and water use heightened government scrutiny and led a local court in February to temporarily revoke the project’s permit.

The Santiago Environmental Court has asked Google to respond to concerns that the data center could harm Santiago’s key watershed.

The court said it was entirely possible that cooling the heavy equipment — which creates online storage for millions of people’s data — could drain water from Chile’s water sources. The country is battling a crippling drought exacerbated by climate change, a source of outrage among locals and indigenous groups.

Google did not provide an updated timeline for the project and said the location would remain the same. It said developers had already notified Chile’s environmental regulator of the company’s decision to pause the permit application process and reconsider its strategy.