TIMELINE
Over the last two years, sketchy details began to emerge that hinted at the construction of a colossal data centre in the sleepy Dutch community of Zeewolde. Rumours circulated, press departments refused to comment, and the whole thing bubbled along in the background. Until a few months ago. Then, things moved very fast indeed, with the revelation that cloud giant Meta (Facebook) was behind the
July 2020 A Shadow Looms Over Zeewolde Reporters working for a Dutch paper reveal that an unnamed, clandestine US tech firm is making “offers you can’t refuse” to local farmers, buying up vast tracts of land. A German power company also reveals that they’ve been contracted for enough power to support a 200 MW data centre. Facebook’s involvement is suspected, but official comment is in no way forthcoming. 16
February 2022
site, which was slated to begin construction immediately. Now, nothing is moving at all, as the project is mired in the approvals process once again. This is our breakdown of the, uh, breakdown of the Meta Zeewolde project.
Feb 2021 Conquering the Council Plans presented to local government authorities reveal that the proposed hyperscale data centre will have a minimum size of 175,000-250,000 sq m (1,884,0002,700,000 sq ft), and will primarily rely on air cooling. A local alderman claims the project will create 410 jobs. Facebook’s involvement remains unconfirmed.
