Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollution
i’m afraid it’s specifically an ai data centre 😮💨
People living near the site of Aotearoa’s first planned AI datacentre are calling for more transparency about the project, especially about how the centre’s huge electricity and water use and potential noise pollution could affect them.
Singapore-based company Datagrid has secured approval to build a NZ$3.5bn (US$2bn) AI datacentre on a 49-hectare site in Makarewa, just north of Aotearoa’s southern-most city, Invercargill. Construction is due to begin this year, with the centre becoming operational by 2028.
Datagrid has approval to discharge air contaminants from up to 84 diesel back-up generators, to draw up to 604,800 litres of groundwater per day, discharge up to 5000 litres of treated wastewater a day and remove a nearby wetland, an Environment Southland regional council reports show.
i’m afraid it’s specifically an ai data centre 😮💨
Nope…. Fuck it…. Burn it down.
Having a local, general-use data center to host local websites and services would have been useful. But if it’s just for AI then yeah it’s a dumb idea