Timeline

A GIANT IN THE LOW COUNTRIES

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 site, which was slated to begin construction immediately. Now, nothing is moving at all, as the project is mired in the appraovals process once again.

This is our breakdown of the, uh, breakdown of the Meta Zeewolde project.

Feb 2021

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.

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.

Nov 2021 Dec 2021

Meta Revealed

The newly re-branded Meta officially reveals its involvement in the project, as well as the site’s planned capacity: 200 MW. Despite a ban on data centre construction in the province which went into effect in June, Meta makes the argument that, because work on the site began before the ban, it should be allowed to continue.

Dec 2021

… Meet David

Less than a week after the highprofile approval of the project, the Dutch Senate slapped a freeze on the project, voiding Meta’s workaround for the local moratorium since a portion of the land required for the site is owned by the Central Government Real Estate Agency. As of now, the Netherlands’ biggest data centre may never make it out of the planning stage.

Goliath…

Despite ongoing protests from local farmers and environmental groups, the Zeewolde local government grants Meta the approvals necessary to begin construction on the site. With a province-wide moratorium in effect, Meta’s campus has the potential to be both the largest and last data centre built in the area.