Google’s planned data centre in Bissen: the government must act in the country’s interest

Home / / Google's planned data centre in Bissen: the government must act in the country's interest

There are new developments in the Google dossier, including:

  • The Ministry of the Environment has decided to largely disregard the objections submitted during the environmental impact assessment, including those from the Mouvement Ecologique.
  • The authorisation procedure for the building permit has been launched; the Mouvement Ecologique has filed an objection.
  • The Ministry of the Environment has adopted Google’s argumentation and also takes the view that relevant environmental information of public interest can be considered a trade secret. The Mouvement Ecologique does not share this view, and its lawyer has approached the “Commission d’accès aux documents”, which is responsible for handling such disputes between citizens and public authorities.
  • On all these issues, the Mouvement Ecologique is taking a position. In addition, a new analysis by the renowned Öko-Institut Berlin was presented this week, clearly showing that the project is far from using the best available technology and that there are immense possibilities for improvement. Energy consumption and CO₂ emissions could be massively reduced, and the waste heat could be used for thousands of households and much more.

In general, the Mouvement Ecologique criticises the fact that the government appears to be satisfied with Google wanting to build a data centre in Luxembourg that simply does not meet the state of the art — which would moreover be contrary to Luxembourg law. It should be noted that the data centre would consume as much energy as all Luxembourg households combined.

The fact that the government is also endorsing Google’s confidentiality claims is highly problematic.

A new analysis by the Öko-Institut now sets out the extent of the opportunities that exist to make the planned data centre more environmentally friendly. This highly informative analysis is presented concisely in a 4-page fact sheet, showing the improvement potential that the Ministry of the Environment must demand in the planning of the Google data centre.

Please consult:

  • the short summary by the Mouvement Ecologique on the current state of the Google dossier and the demands to be made of the government;
  • the 4-page analysis by the Öko-Institut;
  • a short video summarising the key aspects;
  • as well as a 15-minute presentation by the Öko-Institut on the main points of criticism and the existing improvement potential.

 

 

 

 

 

July 9th 2026