Dutch activists “bomb” Microsoft data center site with water balloons

A climate activist group took creative measures to disrupt the development of a Microsoft data center.

Construction of a data center in Amsterdam was disrupted by an attack orchestrated by the international climate activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR).

The group attempted to disrupt the construction of the Microsoft Data Center by throwing water balloons filled with a mix of hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, salt, and acrylic paint onto the foundation.

The acid-based mixture was used to deteriorate the concrete, while hydrogen peroxide accelerated the rusting of the steel.

“With this action, XR joins the Geef Tegengas campaign against the construction of the data center. Data centers are superfluous, disastrous for the climate, and play a role in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians,” the group said in a public statement.

Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Martijn Dekker also commented on the matter, stating:

“We must join forces and resist the anti-democratic power of this small group of the very wealthiest. Stopping the construction of this data center is a necessary step in that regard.”

The protest took place at the construction site in Amsterdam, which is being developed by the UK-based Pure Data Centers Group.

According to the company, the facility is already fully leased, but it doesn’t specify which company leased it. Nevertheless, previous protests reveal that the company in question is Microsoft.

When finished, the facility will have three 85-meter (279-foot) towers, each with 26 MW of data halls, for a total site capacity of 78 MW. While the construction of the data halls only started in January of this year, the site already includes an active power substation, according to The Register.

The aftermath of the attack

The activist group shared that the attack was carried out at night, “when no construction workers are present,” to ensure their safety, as substances such as hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid can cause skin irritation.

Regarding the damage to the construction site, Pure Data Centers Group told local news media NRC that the attack didn’t affect the site, but the company plans to take legal action.

Data centers vs. humans

Data centers came into prominence alongside the widespread use of AI, as these are the sites where data is collected, stored, and analyzed on a large scale.

“Data centers [...] consume enormous amounts of water and cause low-frequency noise pollution, which greatly bothers both humans and other animals,” shared Extinction Rebellion, “[...] They are mostly deployed for AI purposes, and although AI has some meaningful applications, the majority of them are undesirable: jobs are lost, and the work of artists and others is shamelessly stolen to generate AI content.”

It was recently reported that Elon Musk’s latest additions to his Colossus 2 data center bypassed standard pollution controls, avoiding an approval process that would have taken years. In the meantime, local residents are left to deal with noise and pollution.

Data centers have also been blamed for rising electricity costs.

Belden Brick Company in Sugarcreek, Ohio, experienced a 90% increase in electricity costs. This is only one example of when factories and companies have received high electricity bills due to increased power demand from AI data centers.

The harm caused by data centers led New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul to propose a one-year pause on the construction of large AI data centers in the state.

However, this wasn’t met with unanimous agreement, since some critics pointed out that it doesn’t solve the bigger issue and instead creates new ones, such as job cuts for people who have been working on these data centers.