Power, water, jobs: Google on India data centre concerns
The hub is expected to generate $688 million a year in local activity and 4,200 construction jobs, while critics warn of water strain.
- On India's southeast coast, Google has begun construction on a $15 billion AI data centre hub spanning over 600 acres in Visakhapatnam, the tech giant's largest facility outside the United States.
- To attract the investment, Andhra Pradesh officials offered land discounts and tax concessions for ten years, while Vizag's role as a strategic landing point for submarine cables connecting to Singapore, Australia, and South Africa proved ideal for the project.
- Villagers, including farmer Chandala Sadamma, have protested under the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" campaign, citing concerns over land acquisition and water scarcity. Sadamma stated, "I feel like crying" seeing her two-acre plot cleared.
- Google responded by committing to "advanced" air cooling technology instead of water cooling, with Alexander Smith, Google's head of infrastructure and energy for Asia-Pacific, stating the facility will generate $688 million in local economic activity annually once operational in 2028.
- Despite India generating nearly a fifth of global digital data, the country holds only about three percent of global data-centre capacity, positioning the Vizag project within a broader boom in power-hungry AI infrastructure worldwide.
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Google plans a 15 billion data center in India, generating local opposition for its environmental impact and use of resources. The company promises to compensate for water consumption and create thousands of jobs, while residents fear for the environment and water resources.
‘Why here?’ India activists demand moratorium as Google’s AI hub scars land and sparks water fears
VISAKHAPATNAM, Oct 11 — Handcuffs encircle Google’s logo on one campaign poster, while another warns that people “cannot drink data”, as opposition mounts to the tech...
Power, water, jobs: Google on India data centre concerns
But the tech giant says its "gigawatt-scale" AI facility in southern Andhra Pradesh state -- part of a $15 billion investment -- will use air cooling systems, and not water from an area already facing shortages. Alexander Smith, Google's head of infrastructure and energy for the Asia-Pacific region, answered AFP's questions about the project: How do you view the concerns? Smith said Google takes questions raised by the public seriously. "Indepen…
Protests against the construction of a large-scale artificial intelligence center by Google in Visakhapatnam, India, are intensifying. The posters of the dissatisfied have handcuffs around the company's logo and a warning that "data cannot be drunk," AFP reported. Excavators are already clearing forest lands and farmland along the southeastern coast of the country. The investment is worth $ 15 billion, and the center will be Google's largest out…
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