€30bn. That’s how much the EU wants to mobilise to build data centres.
But this ambition might run up against an obstacle. In recent years, protests against data centres have been emerging across the European Union.
Can local residents influence the AI race? And can Europe make progress on this issue without the support of local communities?
Montes Torozos, north-western Spain. Wide plateaus and beautiful hills, small stone villages, castles and monasteries. And soon, perhaps, a large data centre in the middle of this historic, dry landscape.
The small municipality of Torrelobatón, home to fewer than 400 people, is where the company DC Mudarra S.L.U. has chosen to develop a data centre across 120 hectares. A little further east, in Aragon, Microsoft and Amazon are also looking to roll out their AI factories.
