Climate activists storm Microsoft data centre site in Amsterdam, several arrested

Protesters stormed a Microsoft data centre construction site on the outskirts of Amsterdam on Friday during a demonstration against the facility. Around 100 demonstrators entered the site in the Netherlands' capital, according to a Reuters witness. The demonstration was part of two days of coordinated protests against data centres scheduled across several European countries on November 6 and 7.

A spokesperson for Geef Tegengas, an activist group campaigning against fossil fuels, told local broadcaster AT5 that around 500 people had entered the construction site, while hundreds more remained outside, technology website TNW reported. Some demonstrators broke through a fence to gain entry, while others climbed a construction crane. Riot police were deployed to the site near Sloterdijk, in Amsterdam’s western port area, and made several arrests. Earlier in the day, police had halted the march as it approached the site. The mayor subsequently banned the demonstration, prompting protesters to attempt to break through police barricades, Dutch news agency ANP reported. The organisers also accused police of misconduct, alleging that the protesters' right to demonstrate had been disregarded.

According to Geef Tegengas, the facility will consume as much electricity as all households in Amsterdam combined and could delay the construction of 30,000 new homes. The project, which Microsoft will lease in its entirety, comprises three buildings, each standing 85 metres tall. Plans were first submitted in 2016, before the Dutch capital imposed a ban on new data centres within the city limits. The provincial government subsequently approved the project in January. Critics argue that the project circumvents Dutch regulations governing very large data centres. Meanwhile, city officials have warned that constraints on the electricity grid threaten plans for new housing and schools. The site has faced opposition before. In July, Extinction Rebellion activists hurled balloons filled with acid and paint over its perimeter fence, amid growing resistance to data centre projects across Europe and the United States.