Filipche warns data centres could leave farmers short of water and push up power costs

Venko Filipche, leader of SDSM and a medical doctor, used a press conference today to warn about the risks he says follow from plans to build data centres in North Macedonia under the government of Hristijan Mickoski. Filipche accused the ruling camp of moving “under the radar” and said the projects could have serious effects on water availability, agriculture and electricity prices.

At the briefing he argued that the new facilities require very large volumes of water and that their cooling needs could divert supplies from farms. "Does this mean that the huge amount of water that the data centers will use, which the organized criminal group of VMRO wants to build here, will leave our fields and farmers without water supply? Does this mean that this complete neglect of the agricultural sector will suffer another blow because the water will be redirected for cooling of the so‑called data centers?" Filipche said.

Filipche also pointed to the immediate economic problems farmers are already facing — unpaid subsidies and low purchase prices — and warned that water shortages would multiply those strains. "Will the farmers, in addition to this blow they are now suffering and barely surviving, inflicted by this government through unpaid subsidies and low purchase prices, also face having the entire water supply compromised?" he asked.

Electricity demand and industrial capacity

The SDSM leader raised separate concerns about power consumption by data centres and the wider implications for the country’s electricity balance. "Isn't it a legitimate question what will happen to the water supply capacity for all the farmers' fields when a data center is built? Isn't it a legitimate question what Macedonia will do with the electricity that will be in part entirely consumed by those data centers, because they use a lot of power? Furthermore, what will happen to the price of electricity?" he said, highlighting possible needs for additional imports.

Filipche also questioned whether high local electricity demand from data centres could crowd out other investments and future industrial development near those sites. "Will that large consumption make it more expensive? Does that mean there will be additional imports? Does that mean there will be no capacity to do anything else in the vicinity of the data centers because they use so much electricity? For example, will it be possible to build a factory near a data center? And will there even be electricity for those factories?" said the leader of SDSM.

He concluded by warning about environmental effects, in particular the fate of warmed cooling water and potential impacts on rivers and biodiversity, and called on the government to provide guarantees and transparency about resource use and project planning.

Photo: press material from the event