Amsterdam banned data centers. Three 85-metre towers are rising anyway.
On Friday, November 6, protesters broke into the construction site of a new Microsoft data center in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk district. The site, on Plimsollweg, is being built by British developer Pure Data Centres as a three-tower campus for Microsoft’s exclusive lease. Demonstrators cut through the perimeter fence, climbed an 85-metre construction crane, set off flares and hung banners. Police arrested 150 to 200 people on suspicion of trespassing, and cleared the site by late afternoon. The city’s mayor had banned the march earlier that morning.
The protest was organised by the Dutch direct-action collective Geef Tegengas, joined by Extinction Rebellion and pro-Palestinian demonstrators, while Fossielvrij NL held a separate demonstration outside the site. It opened a two-day “Stop Dirty Data Centres” wave of actions across 15 European countries, with further protests planned in Dublin, Warsaw and Denmark.
Why it matters: campaigners say the finished site would use as much electricity as every household in Amsterdam combined — a claim, not a measured figure. The developer states the campus capacity at 78 MW. Amsterdam has banned new data centers, but this project dates to 2016, before the ban, so it was grandfathered in. The campaigners link the project to the city’s wider grid shortage, which the city executive has said is delaying the construction of some 30,000 homes across Amsterdam.
Microsoft said it respects the right to peaceful protest but does not condone unlawful actions or actions that put people’s safety at risk. One officer was slightly injured; protesters said police used force, including tear gas.
THE STORYLINE
- Hook: Amsterdam banned data centers. Three 85-metre towers are rising anyway.
- Context: On Friday, November 6, protesters broke into the Pure Data Centres site on Plimsollweg in Amsterdam’s Sloterdijk district — a campus being built for Microsoft’s exclusive lease. They climbed an 85-metre crane, set off flares and hung banners. Police arrested 150 to 200 people on suspicion of trespassing.
- Stakes: Campaigners say the finished site would use as much electricity as every home in Amsterdam — a claim, not a measured figure. The city banned new data centers, but this project dates to 2016, before the ban. The protest opened a two-day Stop Dirty Data Centres wave across 15 European countries.
- Payoff: The towers are still going up. Expect this fight wherever AI grows — data centers now compete with homes for power and water. Would you trade homes for AI power? Yes or no?
WATCH NEXT: The Stop Dirty Data Centres wave reaches Dublin, Warsaw and Denmark today — same fight, new cities.
HOW WE VERIFIED THIS: Figures checked against AP reporting (via Broadband Breakfast), The Verge, Reuters witness counts, ANP police estimates, and Dutch coverage (NOS, AT5, NRC via Interbellum). The 100 vs 500 crowd counts conflict — Reuters counted about 100 people on site, organisers said about 500 entered — so the video uses the police arrest estimate (150–200) instead. The electricity and 30,000-homes figures are the campaigners’ claims and are labelled as such; the developer’s stated capacity is 78 MW.
LINKS:
- Watch the reel: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dfe5A56gMcr/
- Sources: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/protesters-break-into-microsoft-data-center-site-in-amsterdam-as-european-backlash-begins/ ; https://interbellumnews.com/politics/police-detain-up-to-200-at-amsterdam-microsoft-data-centre-site ; https://alfw.ai/article/amsterdam-microsoft-data-center-protest-crowd-counts/
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