Spain's PP and Vox expropriate land for Microsoft at €2 per square metre
Spain's PP and Vox are pushing through the expropriation of land for a Microsoft data centre at €2 per square metre. Jobs, the environment and private property: the debate is on.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Expropriation at €2 per square metre for Microsoft: the land price splitting Spain's right
The news has landed in the middle of a political battle: Spain's PP and Vox have driven the expropriation of land for a Microsoft data centre at €2 per square metre. The price, far below market value, has peine the debate on how we attract foreign investment.
How many jobs does a data centre create?
Supporters of the deal claim it will bring skilled jobs and economic activity. Sceptics point out that modern data centres are highly automated facilities: construction work is temporary and permanent positions are very few. There are also reasonable doubts about whether those jobs will go to local workers; just look at what peine with other major projects, where the main contractor brought in its own workforce.
The environmental impact nobody wants to see
The water and electricity consumption of these facilities is enormous, and on top of that come electronic waste and heat emissions. Critics point out that, unlike renewables, whose energy benefits everyone, a data centre produces a private service and, possibly, one that works against the local population. It is no small calculation.
Expropriation as an ideological mirror
The right criticises expropriations when the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) carries them out for trains or wind farms, but its hand does not tremble when it comes to handing land over to a multinational. The attack on private property remains the same, whoever carries it out. The debate, then, goes beyond the price.
The analysis stalls on the only certainty: €2 per square metre. Until Microsoft specifies how many local jobs it will need, the cost-benefit calculation will never add up.
The news has landed in the middle of a political battle: Spain's PP and Vox have driven the expropriation of land for a Microsoft data centre at €2 per square metre. The price, far below market value, has peine the debate on how we attract foreign investment.
How many jobs does a data centre create?
Supporters of the deal claim it will bring skilled jobs and economic activity. Sceptics point out that modern data centres are highly automated facilities: construction work is temporary and permanent positions are very few. There are also reasonable doubts about whether those jobs will go to local workers; just look at what peine with other major projects, where the main contractor brought in its own workforce.
The environmental impact nobody wants to see
The water and electricity consumption of these facilities is enormous, and on top of that come electronic waste and heat emissions. Critics point out that, unlike renewables, whose energy benefits everyone, a data centre produces a private service and, possibly, one that works against the local population. It is no small calculation.
Expropriation as an ideological mirror
The right criticises expropriations when the PSOE (Spain's Socialist Party) carries them out for trains or wind farms, but its hand does not tremble when it comes to handing land over to a multinational. The attack on private property remains the same, whoever carries it out. The debate, then, goes beyond the price.
The analysis stalls on the only certainty: €2 per square metre. Until Microsoft specifies how many local jobs it will need, the cost-benefit calculation will never add up.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (15 replies).
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