If a data center is camouflaged in the woods, will anyone hate it?
Microsoft will use biomimicry landscaping at data centers to blunt local anger over noise, trees, and pollution.
Microsoft is expanding a biomimicry program to blend data centers into local landscapes with gardens, native trees, and ecosystem restoration as communities protest construction, noise, and pollution. The company says it runs more than 300 data centers in over 34 countries, began the approach in the Netherlands in 2022, and will extend it to more than 20 US and German sites plus all new US projects. In San Antonio, where it cut more than 2,600 trees across 33 acres in 2022, Microsoft says it is funding restoration of more than 400 acres of woodland and pollinator prairie. In Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, it funded a $4.2 million creek restoration in 2023 while converting a former Foxconn property.
- Microsoft will apply biomimicry landscaping at over 20 US and German sites.
- A 2022 San Antonio build cleared more than 2,600 trees on 33 acres.
- Microsoft says it is restoring over 400 acres of woodland and prairie there.
- Wisconsin work included a $4.2 million creek restoration at a former Foxconn site.
- Residents still cite noise, lights, water use, and electricity demand.
- Vendors
- Microsoft
- Organizations
- Root-Pike Watershed Initiative NetworkFoxconn
- Countries
- United StatesNetherlandsGermany
From the original article
9 min read at theverge.com
San Antonio City Councilmember Ric Galvan remembers when data centers first arrived in his city in the 2000s, looking like relatively unassuming office buildings. But that's changed in recent years, as data centers have grown into massive "hyperscale" facilities spanning millions of square feet and housing the physical infrastructure for AI.
By Justine Calma · theverge.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.