Rho residents to protest proposed 90 MW data center

The Osservatorio Data Center has scheduled a public assembly for September 12 in Rho to discuss a proposed data center project on the former Nilit-Radici site. The project, located in via Moscova, involves a two-story building with a maximum height of 18 meters and a surface area of up to 25,000 square meters. The facility would include an air-cooling system and 32 emergency generators.

Organizers have raised concerns regarding the facility's energy requirements, noting it could demand approximately 90 MW of power from the high-voltage grid—an amount comparable to the average consumption of 250,000 families. The building has been declared of strategic relevance by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.

In a broader context, the rise of data centers is linked to the expansion of artificial intelligence. While AI offers opportunities for productivity and fact-checking, it also presents risks such as deepfakes and automated disinformation. Local municipalities often find themselves unable to influence AI regulation, leaving local opposition to data center infrastructure as a primary method of engagement.