Politicians in the German town of Great-Gerau near Frankfurt have refused plans by a US company to build one of Europe’s biggest data centres.
The move means goodbye to millions in tax revenue and the creation of new jobs.
US investor Vantage Data Centres had reportedly planned to invest around €2.5 billion to build a 174 megawatt data facility. The company had already acquired a 14 hectare site in an industrial area on the outskirts of town.
On February 3, though, the city council of the town of 25,000 voted against the project with an 18 to 14 vote. While the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) supported the plans, the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) along with Greens, Liberals and left-wingers voted against the project.
Mayor Jörg Rüddenklau called the vote “an important decision” afterwards and said his town had not let itself be pressured by the US investor.
SPD faction leader Susanne Theisen-Canibol echoed the sentiment, saying: “We are not selling out our town of Groß-Gerau [Great-Gerau] to a billionaire investor.”
The Greens party was equally jubilant about the cancellation of the project, writing on its website: “Bye bye, data centre … billion-euro deal happily cancelled”.
The opponents of the data centre had claimed that the five planned buildings were too big and would dominate the town’s cityscape.
The Greens had also claimed that the project would heat up the surrounding area with the force of “93,000 ovens or 23,000 saunas” and block an important corridor by which fresh air reaches the city.
CDU faction leader Thomas Hlubek conversely called the decision “disastrous”, adding: “We are missing out on millions in tax revenue and a good investor.”
Vantage Data Centre spokesperson Luka Kim said the height of the buildings could have been reduced and that the portrayal of the heat dangers had been misleading. That was because most of the waste heat from the cooling systems would remain in a closed water circulation system – which the town could have used for its municipal heating network.
After the town’s rejection of the US investment made national news, a deluge of criticism poured down on Great-Gerau on social media.
Data analyst Tobias Lorenz pointed out that the town was deeply in debt and had asked the Hessian Finance Ministry for €14 million in emergency aid only four months ago, adding: “But the inhabitants are afraid of a disfiguration of the cityscape. It hurts to read this!”
