Around 100 activists broke into the construction site of a €1 billion Microsoft data centre in Amsterdam on Friday, opening a two-day European campaign against the power-hungry boom in AI data centres.
The Westpoort campus appears to sidestep the Netherlands' 2022 restrictions on hyperscale data centres by presenting itself as three separate, smaller buildings. The occupation opens two days of Stop Dirty Data Centres protests across Europe and lands in the middle of a distinctly Dutch fight. With about 200 data centres already planned, built or running in the Netherlands, Amsterdam has become a test case for who pays for the AI boom.
Breach and occupation
Around 100 demonstrators went into the Sloterdijk district site. Organisers said several hundred had taken part.
Protesters climbed ladders to get over the perimeter fence, then cut a gap for others to follow. Some climbed a construction crane and set off flares, while others danced or carried placards reading "Screw your data center".
Some activists raised Palestinian flags after climbing cranes and the roof of the construction. Some protesters displayed a banner reading "Fuck AI" and held signs accusing Microsoft of supporting genocide.
Officers formed a cordon around the protesters, and the mayor later called off the demonstration. Riot police stepped in, with several arrests reported. By late afternoon, police were escorting activists away from the construction site, while some remained there.
- MorningBreach
Activists scaled the perimeter fence with ladders and cut an opening to enter the Sloterdijk site.
- MorningOccupation
Protesters climbed cranes and the roof, setting off flares and hanging Palestinian flags and banners.
- AfternoonPolice intervention
The mayor ordered the demonstration to end and riot officers intervened with several arrests reported.
- Late afternoonClearing
Police escorted activists off the construction site, though some still remained.
We don’t want it to be built. Nobody needs it.
Nathan Timmer of Geef Tegengas told local broadcaster AT5 that protesters were occupying the site to stop construction.
"The only thing this will be used for is AI slop. AI warfare, data surveillance, and committing genocides. We don’t want that," Timmer said.
Sam van der Beek, a protester, said the facilities were consuming resources at an unsustainable rate.
"These data centers are destroying our world. It's becoming uninhabitable because of all the resources they consume. That's why we're here today," van der Beek said.
The Westpoort campus
Pure DC is building the campus, valued at €1 billion and with a capacity of 78MW, and Microsoft has leased the entire facility. The site owner, Pure Data Centres, says the project will receive an investment of more than $1 billion (€890 million). It involves three towers approximately 85 metres high.
NRC reported that the campus's annual power use will match that of the whole of Amsterdam. Protesters argue that the facilities might use as much electricity as Amsterdam's households combined, though this estimate has not been independently confirmed.
NRC estimate
Whole city
- Annual use equals all of Amsterdam's electricity
Protesters' claim
Households only
- Annual use equals all Amsterdam households combined
- Not independently established
