According to Stokes, the conditions associated with the permit could lead to the creation of a “green data centre.” These conditions relate to a range of environmental, mobility and landscape issues.
For example, the tech giant must ensure – by installing solar panels en masse – that 90 percent of the energy consumed on site is carbon-free by 2025, and this must reach 95 percent by 2030. In addition Google must eventually choose a more sustainable cooling system for its data centers.
The site in Varsen, the poorest municipality in Wallonia, will house three Google data centres, creating around 400 direct jobs and many indirect jobs in the short term.
The municipality of Farciennes is not the only place where Google has purchased land some time ago. Last year it was announced that Google had purchased 36 hectares of land in La Louvière: also a municipality in the Hainaut department. However, it is not yet clear what Google plans to do with this land.
Since 2010, the company has also had a data center in Saint-Ghislain, also in Hainaut. Nearly 3 billion euros have already been invested in activities there. More than 400 people work there.
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