Pehčevo Municipality to vote on proposed data center construction

The Pehčevo Municipality Council is set to vote on an initiative to construct a data center across five plots in Pančarevo. The political party Levica has raised significant concerns regarding the project, arguing that it threatens the energy future of North Macedonia.

Levica claims there is a lack of transparency surrounding the proposal, noting that the investor has not been announced and there is no available data regarding expected electricity and water consumption, infrastructure requirements, or economic benefit analyses. The party warns that such facilities can place immense pressure on local resources and increase electricity costs for citizens.

Citing research from Nature Communications and trends in Europe, the party highlighted that data centers in Ireland grew from consuming 5% of the nation's electricity in 2015 to 23% in 2025. Levica has previously opposed legislative changes in the Assembly intended to facilitate the development of data centers.