ÖVP demands answers over possible Google data centre in Burgenland

The possible construction of a Google data centre in Nickelsdorf, in the Neusiedl am See district, has prompted the ÖVP to demand answers from the Burgenland government, ORF reported. Governor Hans Peter Doskozil said the project would not go ahead if its water consumption proved too high.

The ÖVP held its Friday news conference beside a drought-stricken cornfield. The land is owned by the Burgenland Economic Agency and, according to media reports, could be used for the large facility. No concrete plans have yet been made public.

ÖVP state party chairman Christoph Zarits said many questions remained unanswered, including how much land would be built on and what the project would mean for energy and water supplies. He called on the state government, particularly Doskozil, to inform the public about the plans.

State parliament member Markus Ulram said the party would submit a comprehensive list of questions to the government. Fellow state parliament member Gerald Handig also questioned the project’s benefits for the region.

Doskozil addressed the proposal during an ORF summer interview on Thursday. He said it was not yet possible to assess how much water the data centre would require. He added that there were ideas and discussions about building a facility powered by renewable energy.

However, Doskozil said the project would not receive approval without conditions. If its water needs reached the scale of a data centre he had heard about in Upper Austria, “there will be no such facility in Burgenland,” he said.