Tips For Handling the Amsterdam Data Centre Crisis
Both the Dutch government and municipalities have banned data centre building in Amsterdam as well as power upgrades for existing facilities. The initial data centre ban was lifted several years ago, but stringent energy efficiency standards have deterred subsequent building and created an image of a city hostile to business. On top of that, the municipality is denying power upgrades. For example, the only way to get incremental power right now at AM5, arguably the single best peering point in the city, is to get vacated or novated space. A client of mine asked for space there, but Equinix replied that power was maxed out and authorities had frozen the total power available to AM5 at the current level. Some local observers argue these moratoriums largely reflect infrastructure neglect in areas like transmission, but I suspect at least in part it is an attempt to appease the Dutch public over power rates. The current Dutch government qualifies as very right wing populist with a host of ...