From WIRED · Joel Khalili · · 2m
Bikers and conservationists unite against Google data center
An unlikely coalition of wildlife groups, environmental nonprofits and a motorcycle club is fighting Google's plan to build a large data center in Thurrock, east of London.
In brief
An unlikely coalition of wildlife groups, environmental nonprofits and a motorcycle club is fighting Google's plan to build a large data center in Thurrock, east of London. Wildlife groups, environmental nonprofits and a motorcycle club are protesting Google's planned data center in Thurrock, citing habitat…
Unlikely alliance forms against Google
Jamie Robins from wildlife trust Buglife delivered a petition signed by almost 55,000 people to Google's UK headquarters in Kings Cross, London, on Wednesday, calling for the company to abandon plans for a data center…
Three groups unite on different grounds
Buglife and local wildlife groups fear habitat destruction for endangered plants and rare bumblebees.Nonprofit Foxglove says the data center will emit too much pollution.
Why Google wants to build here
Across the UK, companies like Google are preparing to build industrial-scale data centers to meet swelling demand for compute needed to run artificial intelligence models.
Public mood toward data centers is souring
The demonstration outside Google was one of a number of anti-data center protests across Europe last week.In Amsterdam, protesters scaled a crane at a Microsoft data center site and unfurled a banner.
Local opposition was overwhelming
Google acquired the Thurrock site through a subsidiary in 2023 and applied for permission to build a data center campus in May last year.
Google disputes the objections
Google says it will achieve net biodiversity gain by retaining habitat and transplanting endangered plants, and offset emissions by financing renewable energy generation to become carbon-neutral by 2030.
“We want to be good neighbors. We recognize the ecological value of these sites. Our goal is to minimize the impact as much as possible.”
Anti-data center movement wins some battles
In the US, some states have instituted permitting freezes and data center moratoria. In the UK, Foxglove recently succeeded in a legal challenge that forced the government to withdraw planning permission for a data center…
Thurrock Council to rule early next year
Thurrock Council expects to rule on Google's initial planning application early next year.After that, the company will need to submit a more detailed plan subject to another lengthy vetting process.
“These planning campaigns can go on for years. It's a war of attrition.”
What to remember
Wildlife groups, environmental nonprofits and a motorcycle club are protesting Google's planned data center in Thurrock, citing habitat destruction, emissions and loss of a racing venue.
