There will be stricter admission criteria for hyperscale data centers and the Dutch government will tighten national control. This is stated in the coalition agreement that was published earlier this week in the Netherlands after a record number of 267 days of negotiations.
The new Dutch government writes in the the agreement: hyperscale data centers - the large data centers of parties such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google - in the Netherlands place a 'disproportionately large claim' on the available sustainable energy 'in relation to the social and/or economic added value'. That is why the government wants to be able to take stricter action when bringing in this type of data centers in the future.
Shadowy decision making processes
In the last few months questions have been raised about the way in which decisions are made about the arrival of data centers. For example, Facebook was acquired in the Netherlands by investment agency NFIA on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Ultimately, however, local politicians in Zeewolde municipality decide on the change in the zoning plan for the land on which the Facebook data center should be located.
Another example is the Dutch Municipality 'Hollandse Kroon'. Local politicians probably made decisions about the arrival of data centers without actually having jurisdiction. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf obtained documents about the decision making proces that, according to legal experts, show that the municipality has repeatedly ignored warnings that it is not the competent authority to grant licenses to international tech giants.
