THURROCK, England — Wildlife groups, an environmental nonprofit and a motorcycle club have joined forces to try to stop a large Google data center planned for Thurrock, 15 miles east of London, Wired reported on Monday, Nov. 9. Campaigners took a petition signed by almost 55,000 people to Google’s U.K. headquarters in London last week.
Related: Google Commits $17 Billion to First Wyoming Data Center Near Cheyenne.
Who is objecting, and why
Conservation trust Buglife and local wildlife groups fear for an endangered plant, a rare bumblebee and other invertebrates. Nonprofit Foxglove says the site could produce up to 570,000 tonnes of emissions a year, a figure it claims cannot fit within the U.K.’s carbon budget. The Thurrock Hammers motorcycle club wants to return to racing on the site, which holds the remains of the disused Arena Essex stadium, according to Wired.
Of 1,000 public responses to the planning authority, only one supported the project, Wired said. Thurrock Council says many came from people living outside the area.
What Google says
Google acquired the site through a subsidiary in 2023 and applied for permission in May last year. The company says the objections rest on misconceptions, and that it will achieve a net gain in biodiversity, offset emissions through new renewable energy with a view to becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, and that the track has been out of use for years. “We want to be good neighbors,” said Adam Elman, Google’s director of sustainability for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
A wider backlash
The U.K. government is encouraging industrial-scale data centers to capture AI investment, Wired said, while residents near proposed sites push back. The Thurrock demonstration was one of several anti-data center protests across Europe last week.
What happens next
The planning decision on the campus is the next step, and campaigners say they will keep fighting. More is on our Artificial Intelligence page.
Sources
Read next in Artificial Intelligence
Artificial IntelligenceTesla Expands Robotaxi Service to San Antonio, Another City Where Waymo Already Operates
Artificial IntelligenceTo Keep Students Thinking in the AI Era, a South Korean City Turns to St. John’s College and the Great Books
Artificial IntelligenceTrump Calls Jensen Huang an ‘Honorable Guy’ as Yale’s Sonnenfeld Puts the Nvidia CEO’s Survival at ‘About a 50-50’
Most read this week
- Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood Claims: What’s Confirmed and What Isn’t
- Stock Futures Erase a 2.4% Overnight Drop as Markets Digest Democrats’ Sweep of Congress
- Spain Transport Minister Óscar Puente Quits 26 Days Before Election Over Crash That Killed 69
- Boston Plans to Close 3 Schools in 2028 as Enrollment Drops as Much as 58%
- GM Korea’s Sales Jump 26.6% on Chevrolet Exports as Hyundai Slips 6.3% and Korean Factory Growth Cools
Latest
- Rosneft Limits Gasoline Sales in Several Russian Regions as Ukrainian Refinery Strikes Continue, Reports Say
- Trump Says He Expects to Meet Putin and Xi at the APEC Summit in Shenzhen Next Week
- Pope Leo Tells Milei the Economy Must Serve People on First Papal Visit to Argentina in Nearly 40 Years
- Bangladesh’s Ousted Leader Sheikh Hasina Requests a New Passport Ahead of Promised December Return
- Okinawa Governor Calls for ‘Fundamental Review’ of U.S.-Japan Troops Pact After Marine’s Murder Indictment