Google announced on Tuesday that it will halt its $200 million data center project in Santiago, Chile. The decision follows mounting environmental concerns, particularly over the center’s potential impact on water resources in the drought-stricken country.
The court raised concerns that the data center’s water-intensive cooling systems could further strain Santiago’s main aquifer, a vital water source. Chile is battling a severe drought, worsened by climate change, and local communities and Indigenous groups are voicing fears over water usage.
In response, Google has committed to starting a new process from scratch. The company said that sustainability is central to its operations, and it plans to meet stricter environmental requirements. Google will redesign the project to minimize water consumption, but did not provide a new timeline for its completion.
Despite the setback, Google plans to keep the project at the same location in Santiago. It has also notified Chile’s environmental regulator of its decision to pause the permit application and rethink its strategy for the data center. The pause reflects a global trend of increasing scrutiny over the environmental impact of large-scale, energy-intensive tech projects.
