The Sines AI gigafactory: the energy, water and forests no one named
What's at stake
Seawater, energy and forest in service of an AI gigafactory.
Being defended
Public discussion of the real environmental cost of a project framed mainly in economic terms.
What's happening
The announcement of an artificial intelligence gigafactory in Sines is presented as a milestone of "technological sovereignty" for the country, but the project carries energy and water needs that are rarely discussed in public.
Water supply is planned through desalinated seawater, a process that has already triggered a legal dispute over the terms of the concession. The data centre's energy consumption will require building Europe's largest solar plant in the region, involving forest felling in areas that are currently classified.
Local organizations from the Alentejo coast, including TAMLA, question the real environmental cost of a project presented mainly in economic and geopolitical terms.
What you can do now
Press coverage
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