Green Datacenter Approved in Almere Despite High Energy Demand
Almere, Tuesday 4 August 2026
Flevoland has approved a €61 million “green” datacenter in Almere, which will controversially consume as much electricity as 80,000 households and millions of litres of water.
Balancing Massive Scale with Sustainability Claims
The Sallandsekant business park in Almere has been designated as the site for a major new datacenter [1]. Developed and operated by EvoSwitch, the project represents a capital investment of over €61 million [1][2]. While the developer actively markets the facility as a pioneer in ecological design, its projected resource footprint highlights the ongoing tension between rapid digital expansion and regional environmental limits [GPT]. The facility is designed to support the infrastructure demands of the modern digital economy, highlighting the physical realities underpinning cloud services [GPT].
Resource Demands and Environmental Assurances
To maintain optimal operating temperatures, the facility is projected to draw hundreds of millions of litres of cooling water annually from the nearby Hoge Vaart canal [1][2]. Furthermore, its electricity consumption is estimated to equal that of more than 80,000 Dutch households [1][2]. EvoSwitch has defended its green credentials, asserting that the cooling process will cause no thermal pollution or contamination of the canal’s water as it strives to build the most sustainable datacenter in the Netherlands [1].
Regulatory Approval and Legal Pathways
The provincial government of Flevoland has officially granted the necessary permit for the construction [1]. During the draft decision phase, only a single objection was submitted; however, it was filed late and subsequently dismissed by authorities [1]. Despite this administrative dismissal, local opposition and environmental scrutiny remain possible [GPT]. Because of the project’s sheer physical scale and potential environmental impact, the decision is not yet final, and formal appeals can still be lodged directly with the court [1].
From Peat to Pixels: Almere’s Energy Evolution
The contemporary debate over Almere’s energy consumption coincides with a physical exploration of the region’s historical energy systems [GPT]. From 3 August to 27 August 2026, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), in partnership with Museum Batavialand, is hosting the Veldschool Scheepsarcheologie Flevoland 2026 [3]. This year, archaeology students are excavating the ZK46, an inland cargo ship that sank around 1800 in Almere’s Oosterwold district while carrying a cargo of peat [3].
The Historical Shift in Bulk Energy
Peat transport served as the primary energy source in the Netherlands during the early modern period, spanning from 1550 to 1800 [3]. Just as bulk peat once physically powered the pre-industrial Dutch economy, massive digital infrastructure projects like the Sallandsekant datacenter now power the intangible flows of the digital economy [GPT]. This transition from physical bulk fuel to high-density electrical infrastructure underscores the shifting, yet ever-increasing, nature of societal energy demands [GPT].