“A blow to tourism.” A large data center next to a UNESCO reserve

Not only the residents of Piaseczno near Warsaw are afraid of the impact of the new data center on their peace and quiet.

The North Devon Biosphere Reserve is one of seven UNESCO biosphere reserves in the UK. The local community was concerned about plans to build an AI data center near this place. It is located within the reserve area the largest dune systems in Europe – Braunton Burrows, which was included on the UNESCO list in 2002.

The Independent reports that Xlinks, a British company from the renewable energy sector, has proposed building a large artificial intelligence data campus and a battery storage facility in the biosphere area.

Data center close to Braunton Burrows

The Campaign to Protect Rural England, a rural charity, protested.

“The loss of the Biosphere Reserve would be a huge blow to our tourism industry, on top of the impending physical presence of one of the world’s three largest data centers and Europe’s largest battery bank in our beloved rural landscape,” it says.

“Xlinks claims this will create 650-1,200 permanent jobs on-site, but we do not believe this justifies such wanton destruction of the countryside, and we do not believe it will because such data centers are highly automated. Our understanding is that once built, they provide surprisingly few permanent jobs on-site. We also have serious concerns about the enormous amount of water needed to cool the servers and the noise they generate,” opponents argue.

It was added that the area of ​​the center is to cover a total of 3.4 square kilometers (about 7 times larger than the area of ​​the Vatican) and consist of five separate, huge buildings with a height of 40 m, i.e. almost as high as the towers of St. Peter’s Cathedral. Peter in Exeter.

The reserve managers did not raise any objections

In July, North Devon Biosphere, the organization responsible for managing the biosphere reserve, said that at this stage the partnership “neither supports nor opposes this proposal.” A spokesman for Xlinks said the company would take into account feedback from extensive consultations before submitting planning applications.

Xlinks information meetings with residents and councilors about the investment are planned.

Status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve

What about the status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve? For now, the answer is not clear. “Although UNESCO does not intend to provide a formal opinion on this proposal, the issue of the data center’s compliance with the sustainable development principles applicable in the area will have a direct impact on the assessment of the continued status of the site in North Devon,” said a spokesman for the organization, quoted by the BBC.