Data centers are the massive, warehouse-like buildings behind what we call “the cloud.” They are packed with computers that store and process vast amounts of data, supported by intricate cooling systems that keep them from overheating. Every time we send a message online, stream a video or use generative AI, we are tapping into one of these facilities.

Although data centers have existed for decades, in recent years, Big Tech firms have dramatically accelerated the construction of vast facilities – often referred to as “hyperscalers” in marketing parlance. They are built to support the expansion of Generative AI, such as image generators or Large Language Models (LLM) that power chatbots like ChatGPT. Such sites consume staggering amounts of electricity: a single data center can gobble up as much power as a small city.

Generative AI requires extraordinary computing power and storage capacity. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2030, the energy required for data centers could exceed the total electricity consumption of countries such as Japan. To fuel what they frame as an ‘AI arms race,’ tech companies are aggressively acquiring land and water rights, and securing energy deals with utilities.

Yet AI isn’t the only factor. Data centers are also expanding to meet growing demand for cloud services, financial transactions, public-sector platforms, and data-intensive systems used by governments and corporations alike. Many of these systems run constantly, require large-scale infrastructure, and operate with minimal public oversight.

Who Profits, and Who Pays?

Companies often strike deals directly with regional or national governments, bypassing local consultation altogether. In Spain, for instance, activist Aurora Gómez of Tu Nube Seca Mi Río (Your Cloud Dries My River) notes that even local mayors have found out about new data center projects only after agreements were finalized at the regional level and announced in the press.

Large tech companies often strike deals behind closed doors with regional officials, offering vague promises of jobs and innovation in exchange for public land, tax breaks, and access to water and electricity – arrangements exposed in the latest investigation by AlgorithmWatch’s Algorithmic Accountability fellows. Tech companies have projected the creation of thousands of jobs in regional communities in Romania or the Netherlands. Yet in reality, only a quarter of those positions have materialized.

This leads to a quietly expanding industrial footprint, marketed as digital progress but operating with minimal scrutiny and mounting public costs: “Typically, hyperscale data centers are located in rural areas where there is a stark imbalance of power,” Gómez says. “Part of that inequality stems from the fact that these are very poor regions with limited access to water and high unemployment rates.”

Yet the incentives driving this expansion usually come directly from public budgets – funds that could otherwise support schools, housing, or climate adaptation infrastructure. Still, affected residents are far from powerless. Across the world, local groups are demanding transparency, respect for environmental limits, and a democratic say in how infrastructure is planned.

What You Can Do If a Data Center Is Coming to Your Community

Check the zoning and land use

Start with the map. You can object to the construction of a data center if it is proposed on farmland, in a residential area, or near protected habitats. Amsterdam’s decision to pause new sites – and later restrict them to designated areas – demonstrates how zoning policies can be used to slow or reshape development.

In the Netherlands, local opposition, including farmers challenging environmental damage and nitrogen-permit impacts, successfully derailed mega-projects like Meta’s Zeewolde campus.

Request planning and environmental documents

The most revealing information is often buried in permits and contracts. You can search for environmental impact assessments, grid connection requests, water-use licenses, and any agreements concerning subsidies or tax incentives. If these are not public, Freedom of Information requests (FOI) can help you obtain them. Check the transparency laws in your country and/or region (here’s a guide) or seek advice from civil society organizations and/or legal experts.

Such records can reveal the scale of a project’s footprint and highlight where it falls short of its claims. In Spain, for example, journalists only uncovered the full extent of Amazon Web Services’ water and power use after digging into planning and licensing files.

Engage local officials and demand public hearings

Do not wait until construction begins. Meet early with councilors, mayors, or regional representatives. Ask who approved what, and insist on open consultations. In Ireland, sustained pressure from campaigners and expert warnings about grid strain led to a freeze on new data center connections around Dublin, now set to last until at least 2028.

Connect with others, locally and across borders

Projects move fastest when people are isolated and feel powerless against behemoth companies. Establish a local group and reach out to neighboring regions and national networks. Across Europe, communities are sharing strategies, legal remedies, challenges in land-use planning, and targeted media work to boost and consolidate their collective power.

Connect with experts

Independent hydrologists, energy analysts, environmental lawyers, and urban planners can test company claims against hard evidence. In Frankfurt, Germany, expert reviews of environmental impact assessments have challenged the projected benefits of large data center clusters. In Sweden, engineers have modeled how waste heat could be reused to cut emissions. Bringing in outside specialists can reveal hidden costs, identify technical flaws in proposals, and strengthen a community’s case for tighter conditions – or even outright rejection.

Demand transparency and accountability

Approval is not the end of the fight. Even once permits are in place, communities can push operators to disclose how much water and energy they consume, how much pollution backup (diesel-powered) generators emit, the grid or road upgrades they will require, and any subsidies they have received. Under the EU’s updated Energy Efficiency Directive, data centers must report key performance indicators to a central database, and a new EU-wide sustainability rating scheme will make those figures easier to compare. Some companies have also signed the voluntary Climate Neutral Data Center Pact, committing to renewable energy use, water stewardship, and efficiency targets. While such pledges are noteworthy, they will only carry real weight once enshrined in law.

Advocate for policy reforms that fit your region

You can win zoning reforms, enforceable renewable-energy and water-use limits, and utility safeguards to prevent local residents from footing the bill. For example, Germany’s Energy Efficiency Act (Energieeffizienzgesetz) requires new data centers to implement energy management systems and source 100% of their electricity from renewables starting in 2027 - even though this provision only applies in accounting terms and operators only have to make sure they buy they same amount of renewable energies as the power that the center uses over the course of one year.

The energy think tank Ember reports that traditional data center hubs are already experiencing grid bottlenecks, forcing new facilities to relocate to regions with more spare capacity. This shift means communities in areas such as southern Europe and the Nordics ­– often selected for their cheap renewable energy – can suddenly find themselves targeted for large-scale developments they had not anticipated. Without strong local policies, these areas risk higher electricity prices, increased strain on supply, and reduced capacity for households and other industries. Tightening rules now gives communities more control over how and where this infrastructure grows.

Envision better infrastructure

Communities can make the case for data infrastructure that serves local needs rather than working against them. In Helsinki, Finland, waste heat from servers is channeled into the city’s district heating network, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. In Spain, the Guifi.net cooperative shows that internet infrastructure can be locally owned and democratically managed. Smaller, decentralized, renewable-powered facilities can be designed to respect the limits and priorities of the communities they serve. Across Europe, experts and campaigners stress the same point: projects must operate within hydrological boundaries, energy capacity constraints, and the public interest.

Shift the frame

Opponents of data centers risk being framed as “anti-tech”, which may hamper a campaign. Yet unsustainable data centers would not even exist without the current Generative AI hype. Not only do these facilities risk becoming redundant if AI proves less profitable than anticipated, but GenAI itself remains very limited in a lot of ways and has yet to prove its value. AI systems perform much better when kept small and focused – and as a side benefit, such approaches require much smaller data centers. Earth Friendly Computation, a collective of technologists and academics, advocates for precisely these kind of projects.

European Groups Resisting Data Center Impacts

Below is a list of organizations across Europe which are already advocating against the construction of unsustainable data centers in their respective regions:

1. Tu Nube Seca Mi Río (Spain)
   Focused on Aragón, this collective campaigns against data centers for their excessive water use in drought-prone areas.
   
   
2. La Quadrature du Net (France)
   Operating in Marseille, La Quadrature opposes the takeover of urban buildings by data centers, arguing that energy should instead go towards public transport or green infrastructure.
   
   
3. Save the Wieringermeer (Netherlands)
   Upholding traditional agriculture, this group has campaigned to block Microsoft from building massive server farms in the region; they’re determined to protect farmland and local livelihoods.
   
   
4. Not Here Not Anywhere (NHNA) (Ireland)
   NHNA spearheaded efforts to halt new data centre connections around Dublin in response to rising grid strain. Their campaign is credited with influencing a temporary moratorium.
   
   
5. Friends of the Earth (Ireland)
   The organization actively campaigns against the expansion of data centers. It is part of Friends of the Earth Europe, a pan-European environmental NGO network active across 33 countries. While not focused solely on data centers, FoEE campaigns on resource justice and environmental oversight, making them natural allies in resisting oversized infrastructure.
   
   
6. Beyond Fossil Fuels
   Operating in different countries, it forms a continental advocacy network that recently warned new data centers could undermine Europe’s power transition goals, contributing to rising greenhouse gas emissions and grid stress.
   
   
7. Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) (Germany)
   Several regional organizations have engaged against local data center projects in cities like Frankfurt/Hessen, as well as in the Rhineland near Cologne. 

Note: An earlier version of the text stated that “the energy required to power AI alone could exceed the total electricity consumption of countries such as Japan.” The correct wording is: “the energy required for data centers.” We have also corrected a passage referring to the Energy Efficiency Act in Germany and updated the list of organizations advocating against unsustainable data centers.