New Amazon Datacers bring major problems to northern Spain

Spain may be “on the edge of ecological collapse”, but it is not alone: ​​the three US technological giants are bringing water scarcity zones. The problem is that “neither people nor data can live without water.”

An infographics published in shows how large US technology companies Amazon, Microsoft and Google are building with the support of Donald Trump Datacers in high water scarcity zones all over the world.

The problem? These datacrters will consume a lot of water – more properly, 755,720 cubic meters of water per yearin the case of the 3 new datacers that are being built in northeastern Spain, in the region of Aragon.

The extraction of this volume of water has already been approved, and is enough for 233 hectares of corn, one of the products that is most cultivated in the region, closely linked to agriculture.

Water is used in these datacers, which contain network servers used for remote data storage and processing, for the Cooling of the systems.

Also note that there are already three data storage places of this type in the region. These Datacers should consume more electricity than the entire region of Aragon.

This is one of the Spanish zones with more water shortages, and last month the region asked the Spanish government aid to combat this problem that affects cultures.

Nevertheless, Aragon’s government does not recognize the problem, and tells The Guardian that the impact is “imperceptible.”

However, as stated by Lorena Jaume-Palalasi, founder of Ethical Tech Society, 75% of Spain already at risk of desertification, and the combination of climate crisis with the expansion of data centers is “Take Spain on the edge of ecological collapse.” It also warns that “resilience resilience will be very difficult for these communities.”

And Spain is not the only one affected by the damage of these new datacers (which the 3 technological giants are increasing by 78%): Microsoft itself admitted that 42% of the water it uses for these systems comes from “Areas with water stress”, and Google stated that 15% of its water consumption was in areas with “High water shortage.”

There are datacers under construction, according to the map shared by The Guardian on several continents, and even in the US the chosen areas are water shortages. The same happens in China, the Middle East or South Africa, for example.

The choice of these places is not random: have to be dry, rural and inland areassince low humidity reduces the risk of corrosion of the metal, and seawater itself also causes corrosion.

“We know that water is a precious resource and we are committed to doing our part to help solve this challenge,” Harry Staight, a Amazon spokesman has already assured. “It is important to remember that many of our facilities do not require continuous use of water to cool operations.”

“Neither people nor data can live without water”alerts Aurora Gómez on the other hand, activist of the campaign group Tu Nube Dry Mi Río (“Your cloud dries my river”). “But human life is essential and the data is not.”