The Netherlands' Senate Votes To Prevent Meta From Advancing Works at its Zeewolde Data Center Site

Meta’s Plans for a data center in Zeewolde has suffered another major setback. Lawmakers in the Netherlands voted last week to prevent the company from continuing any groundwork on the site. This move comes after Meta received approval from the Zeewolde council for zoning changes and plans for the 200MW facility. The reason Meta is facing this hurdle is because part of the land it intends to use belong to the government. Besides The Netherlands’ senate also voted on a motion to prevent any site preparation pending the completion of negotiations around the sale of the land.

It is currently unclear whether the government of the Netherlands will follow the motion and stop work at the site. However, Stijn Grove, the managing director of Dutch Data Center Association, believes the decision is purely political. He added that the move was made because it is Facebook.