Google's $15 Billion India AI Data Center Sparks Backlash; Company Responds to Water and Power Fears

What happened

The gigawatt-scale "AI Hub" sits in the southeastern coastal port city of Visakhapatnam on a 600-acre site — more than 340 football pitches — and is slated to go live in 2028. AFP reports excavators have moved in, flattening mango and cashew groves. Farmer Chandala Sadamma, 50, told AFP she was paid more than $82,000 for her two-acre plot but the deal left a bitter taste. Gutta Rohith of the local Human Rights Forum asked a 150-strong meeting: "The United States has a huge coast... Why are they coming here?"

"The AI Hub investment is a multi-decade commitment carrying an obligation to be a good neighbour. The watershed, the grid and the communities around our facilities must be better off for our being here."

— Alexander Smith, Google's head of infrastructure and energy for Asia-Pacific, in an AFP interview

Smith told AFP that Google's water assessment for Visakhapatnam "pointed to pressure on the local watershed," which "shaped our choice of cooling configuration from the outset," with advanced air cooling chosen instead of water cooling; Google also pledged to replenish 120% of the freshwater it consumes for non-cooling needs across its operations by 2030. He said independent environmental assessments — covering grid stability, power supply, water risk, ecology and more — are conducted 12 to 24 months before a project begins: "If there is insufficient power in a location, or if operating a data centre would mean taking power away from a community, Google will either find ways to develop more power, or it will not build there." Google projects about $688 million in local economic activity each year, roughly 4,200 construction workers annually during the build, and hundreds of specialist on-site roles once live; the Andhra Pradesh government expects 188,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Activists are demanding a moratorium on new data centers across Andhra Pradesh until independent environmental and social impact assessments are published. AFP also noted that a Finnish authority recently ordered work to halt on two Google data center sites pending mandatory environmental assessments; a joint venture of Reliance Industries, Brookfield and Digital Realty is investing $11 billion in another AI data center in Visakhapatnam, and local land prices have risen more than 45% since the development plans were unveiled. Indian government figures show the country generates nearly a fifth of the world's digital data but holds only about 3% of global data-center capacity.

Key facts

1. Scale: $15 billion, Google's largest data center outside the US — a gigawatt-scale AI hub on 600 acres
2. Where and when: Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh, India; operational in 2028
3. Protests: Water, power, land acquisition and job returns; a ~150-person rally; activists demand a statewide moratorium on new data centers
4. Google's response: Air cooling instead of water; independent assessments 12–24 months before a project; replenish 120% of non-cooling freshwater by 2030
5. Economics: Google cites ~$688M/year in local activity and ~4,200 construction workers; the state expects 188,000 direct and indirect jobs
6. Context: Finland halted two Google sites; another $11B JV data center is planned in Vizag; local land prices up over 45%