No sooner had the law been passed than the ‘no data centre’ solution was found. Sertori responds

The rollout of the new data centres – the beating heart of AI and future development – is no triumphal march through the Lombard valleys. Whether it is due to the spectre of HAL 9000 (the disobedient computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey), stirred up by the very creators of AI who, unwittingly, are fuelling the ‘no data centre’ campaigns; or whether it is down to the long-standing philosophy of local councillors: sewage treatment plants, incinerators, data centres? Yes, but ‘in the neighbour’s garden, never in mine’. The fact remains that Massimo Sertori, Regional Councillor for Local Authorities, Energy Resources and Water Resources, and author of the balanced and widely praised law – the first of its kind in Italy – regulating the construction of data centres, found himself in Travagliato, a municipality in the province of Brescia governed by Renato Pasinetti, a mayor from the League, facing his first hurdle. “During the process, critical issues and gaps in the documentation emerged, which prevented the project assessment from being successfully completed. The council issued a negative opinion, highlighting the need for adequate information to fully assess the environmental, energy, infrastructural and territorial impacts of the project. Subsequently, the applicant failed to proceed with the application within the stipulated timeframe and withdrew the file relating to the implementation plan. Lombardy wishes to attract data centres, but it wants to do so whilst ensuring that every facility is sustainable and compatible with the local context in which it is built. We understand the concerns of local communities, but we believe that the debate must be based on objective data and not on prejudice.” 

But how has the regional law on data centres been received by operators? “The law requires operators to make a concrete planning effort towards greater efficiency and sustainability of their facilities,” says Sertori: “I am thinking, for example, of the recovery and use of waste heat, the on-site production and self-consumption of energy, and the protection of water resources: to access the benefits provided for by the regional legislation, a mere declaration of intent is not enough; rather, it is necessary to demonstrate in concrete terms, at the time of submitting the application, that the priorities identified by the Region are being pursued. These are choices that may require greater initial investment and which do not always represent, in the short term, the most cost-effective solution for the operator, but which enable us to steer and attract sustainable, efficient investments capable of generating value for the local area, whilst avoiding speculative initiatives that produce no added value for local communities. “Despite this greater commitment required, operators have appreciated the effort made by the Region to provide certainty for a new and rapidly growing sector by establishing a clear regulatory and procedural framework,” concludes Sertori.