Could a US-style backlash against data centers threaten the EU’s AI plans?
By Masha Borak ( August 10, 2026, 07:43 GMT | Comment) -- The EU's plan for a €30 billion tender to build AI gigafactories — large-scale computing facilities designed to provide the huge processing power to train and deploy advanced AI models — amid a severe heatwave and drought has raised concerns about the demands on the continent's energy grids and water supplies. Experts say the initiative could trigger a European backlash similar to the wave of protests and legal action seen in the US.The EU's announcement of a multibillion euro initiative to build huge energy-hungry AI gigafactories in the middle of a severe heatwave and drought that has forced power plants to shut down may not have been very good timing....
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