Shterjova: One data centre drinks as much water as a town of 30,000, and we do not even have enough to drink

While Europe is facing drought and drying rivers, the government of Hristijan Mickoski is pushing the construction of commercial data centres as though the matter were already settled. That was the warning delivered by Keti Shterjova at a press conference at SDSM headquarters, where she demanded a clear answer to the simplest question of all: which water and which electricity will these facilities run on, when the state cannot even secure drinking water.

Shterjova set out the context in which the investment is being planned. "Europe is facing drought, shrinking water resources and drying rivers," she said, adding that "North Macedonia imports more electricity than it produces" and that "in more than 50 settlements citizens are dealing with contaminated water".

It is precisely under such conditions, SDSM argues, that a project is being prepared whose price will be paid by households. "And in conditions like these, Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE want to sell the citizens' water and electricity for the interests of foreign data centres and their own tender profits," Shterjova said.

Her strongest argument is a figure any consumer can grasp. "A single large data centre consumes between 1 and 3 million litres of water a day, as much as a town of 15,000 to 30,000 inhabitants," Shterjova noted. In her view, the domestic infrastructure cannot carry such a load: "Our infrastructure cannot withstand it and it carries the risk of water restrictions and higher electricity prices."

Shterjova linked the announcement to the crisis that remains unresolved in several municipalities. "Mickoski's government cannot secure enough clean drinking water, let alone more than that," she said. To the water problem she added the energy bill: "North Macedonia does not have enough electricity for data centres and it will have to be imported," and the key question, according to SDSM, is how much larger those imports will have to be, because in the end the cost will again be paid by citizens through higher electricity bills.

Several technical questions raised by Shterjova were left unanswered: "Which water will be used? Does that mean the rivers will be heated and will warmed water be discharged into them? How will that affect biodiversity?" These are questions for which no competent ministry has so far produced a document containing an analysis.

Shterjova stressed that the objection is not aimed at the technology itself. "SDSM is not against digitalisation. Digitalisation does not mean simply building a data centre," she said, explaining that digitalisation means functional electronic services, connected institutions, less bureaucracy and a state that works faster for its citizens.

Hence the concrete demand with which she closed her address: "We are calling for a moratorium on the construction of new commercial data centres that use water-evaporation systems." Shterjova recalled that in several American states and in European countries such investments are being halted because of water shortages, enormous electricity consumption and the environmental impact, while here the project is being defended as a development priority.

Photo: SDSM