EIA for Google data center in Kronstorf definitively off the table

Background: Power grid under pressure

The Kronstorf site in Upper Austria was for a time considered a possible option for a Google expansion. However, the lack of an environmental impact assessment and the associated legal framework conditions apparently make the location unattractive. Google has already announced a data center in Leopoldsdorf in Lower Austria, which is apparently being preferred.

The political debate around the project has been critically accompanied by the Greens for months. Stefan Kaineder of the Greens had repeatedly expressed concerns about the energy consumption of large data centers. The Greens see the now confirmed decision as a confirmation of their criticism of the energy policies of large tech corporations.

Political dimension

The state of Lower Austria is benefiting from the development: with the already announced Leopoldsdorf site, the federal state consolidates its position as a location for data centers in Austria. The choice of location between Upper Austria and Lower Austria has been the subject of intense political discussions in recent months.

For Kronstorf, the decision means that the Google data center Kronstorf project will not be realized. The responsible EIA authority has definitively terminated the process, without a formal assessment procedure ever having been initiated.

The debate over the expansion of data centers in Austria is not over with this, however. Experts point out that power grid capacities are becoming increasingly scarce, while new consumers such as AI data centers, electromobility, and hydrogen production generate additional loads. The APG (Austrian Power Grid) had recently pushed ahead with the expansion of the transformer station in Kronstorf with Siemens components to secure grid stability in the region.

Outlook for the region

Industry insiders expect that the location decision between the federal states will have a signaling effect for further investments. Lower Austria is positioning itself as the preferred location for hyperscale data centers in Austria.

The first of ten "transformer legs" from Siemens for the APG transformer station in Kronstorf, a symbol of the expansion of the electricity infrastructure, thus remains in focus – but the associated major consumer, Google, will not be locating there. The energy transition and the expansion of renewable energies meanwhile remain one of the central political challenges, in which the energy hunger of the tech industry is playing an increasingly larger role.