运行人工智能所需的大型数据中心正在欧洲各地引发抗议。其运营商反驳称，这些中心能增强数字主权和能源独立性。
Massive data centers needed to run AI are triggering protests across Europe. Their operators counter that they boost digital sovereignty and energy independence.
科技巨头谷歌在欧洲拥有多个数据中心。就像燃煤电厂和风力涡轮机一样，几乎没人真正希望数据中心建在自家后院。但他们确实想使用这些服务。随着关于人工智能潜在危险的全球辩论愈演愈烈，关于训练和运行AI所需的数据中心究竟应建在何处，也引发了许多地方性讨论。
Tech giant Google has several data centers in Europe Like coal-fired power plants and wind turbines, few people actually want a data center in their backyard. But they do want to use their services. As a global debate rages about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, there are also many local discussions about where exactly the data centers needed to train and run AI should be built.
这在欧洲目前是个重大议题，许多政府和企业决定宁愿将数据存储在欧洲，而非全球算力领跑者美国。但欧洲更强的数字主权将意味着消耗更多本大陆的资源。
This is currently a major issue in Europe, where many governments and companies have decided that they would prefer to store data in Europe rather than in the United States, which is the global leader in computing. But more digital sovereignty in Europe will mean more consumption of the continent's resources.
据德国经济部统计，数据中心每消耗1千瓦时电力，平均需用0.4至4.4升（0.8至9.3品脱）水进行冷却，这些水要么蒸发，要么以升温状态被引回水箱。数据中心断电会发生什么？
According to the German Ministry for Economic Affairs, for every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed, an average of between 0.4 and 4.4 liters (0.8 and 9.3 pints) of water is used to cool data centers with the water either evaporating or being diverted back to tanks in a warmed state.
要观看此视频，请考虑升级至支持HTML5视频的网络浏览器。巨大的水资源消耗 刚刚过去的夏季是欧洲有记录以来最热的夏季——在一些地区，居民、农业甚至核电站的用水均受到限制。预计未来夏季将更热，因此许多人担忧数据中心未来的潜在耗水量。
What happens when data centers lose power? To view this video , and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Massive water consumption The summer that just ended was the hottest on record in Europe — in some areas, water use was restricted for residents, agriculture and even nuclear power plants. The summers are expected to get warmer, so many are wondering about the potential water consumption of data centers in the future.
他们也担心数据中心的高耗电量。芬兰国家电网运营商Fingrid近期预测，若所有已签接入协议的项目全面落地，用电量将激增近40%。
To view this video , and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Massive water consumption The summer that just ended was the hottest on record in Europe — in some areas, water use was restricted for residents, agriculture and even nuclear power plants. The summers are expected to get warmer, so many are wondering about the potential water consumption of data centers in the future.
本周，欧盟委员会宣布了一项针对数据中心的新方案，旨在提高其能源和水资源使用情况的透明度。容量超过500千瓦的数据中心将获得能效等级评定，该评定还将考虑其对电网的贡献，例如废热的回收利用。欧盟委员会负责清洁、公正且具有竞争力转型的执行副主席特蕾莎·里贝拉表示：“将我们的数据中心容量扩大三倍，绝不能意味着我们对电网、水资源和能源账单的压力也相应扩大三倍。”
They are also worried about the high electricity consumption of the centers. Fingrid, Finland's national grid operator, recently forecast that electricity consumption would rise by almost 40% if all projects with signed connection agreements were implemented in full. This week, the European Commission announced a new scheme for data centers to increase transparency on their energy and water use. Those with a capacity of more than 500 kW will receive an efficiency grade that will also take into account their contribution to the grid, such as the reuse of waste heat. "Tripling our data center capacity cannot mean tripling the pressure on our grids, our water and our energy bills," said Teresa Ribera, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
目前，欧洲有多座数据中心正在建设中。欧洲最强大的数据中心主要建在法兰克福、伦敦、阿姆斯特丹、巴黎和都柏林（FLAP-D）等主要城市附近，原因在于这些地区拥有高连接性、靠近用户和企业，并且拥有成熟的生态系统，包括专业的工程师和安全的供应链。
Several data centers are currently under construction in Europe Data centers in urban hubs and rural areas Europe's most powerful data centers have primarily been built near the major cities of Frankfurt, London Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin (FLAP-D) because of high connectivity, proximity to users and businesses, and well-established ecosystems with specialized engineers and secure supply chains.
然而，根据投资集团世邦魏理仕（CBRE）的一份报告，随着这些市场面临电力和电网基础设施的限制，情况正在发生变化。新的数据中心正在荷兰格罗宁根市、西班牙巴塞罗那、比利时首都布鲁塞尔以及更多农村地区建设。
Several data centers are currently under construction in Europe Data centers in urban hubs and rural areas Europe's most powerful data centers have primarily been built near the major cities of Frankfurt, London Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin (FLAP-D) because of high connectivity, proximity to users and businesses, and well-established ecosystems with specialized engineers and secure supply chains.
与此同时，线上和线下的抗议活动也日益增多。本月早些时候，数百人聚集在奥地利林茨市科技巨头谷歌的办公室前，抗议其已在小城镇克龙斯托夫建设数据中心的既定计划。
However, according to a report by the investment group CBRE, the situation is changing as these markets face power and grid infrastructure constraints. New data centers are being built in the Dutch city of Groningen, Barcelona in Spain or the Belgian capital Brussels, as well as in more rural areas.
数百人抗议谷歌数据中心，称人工智能需要民主。本月早些时候，爱尔兰畅销书作家萨莉·鲁尼成功领导了一场运动，推翻了在基拉拉村建设拟建数据中心的规划许可，她辩称该项目将违反国家气候政策。
And as this happens, there are more and more protests taking place, both on and offline. Earlier this month, hundreds turned up for a protest in front of tech giant Google's offices in the Austrian city of Linz, demonstrating against its already advanced plans to build a data center in the small town of Kronstorf.
与此同时，在法国中部，埃特雷谢村（Etrechet）的多名民选官员因谷歌计划在此建造一座大型数据中心而辞职。该数据中心在满负荷运转时，将需要880兆瓦至1.1吉瓦的电力，相当于一座核电站的总发电量。埃特雷谢村村长弗洛伦斯·洛朗（Florence Laurent）在接受法国《世界报》采访时表示，她辞职是因为感到“无能为力，因为村庄对该项目没有任何决策权”。
Hundreds protested against a Google data center saying that AI needed democracy Earlier this month, bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney successfully led a campaign to overturn planning permission for a proposed data center in the village of Killala, arguing that it would breach national climate policy. In central France, meanwhile, several elected officials in the village of Etrechet have resigned over Google's plans to build a massive data center, which, at full capacity, would require between 880 megawatts and 1.1 gigawatts of electricity or the equivalent of the total output of a nuclear power plant. Etrechet mayor Florence Laurent told the French daily Le Monde that she was resigning out of a "sense of powerlessness, since the village has no decision-making power" regarding the project.
一些数据中心运营商认为，可以通过特定的方式建造设施以实现节能。据报道，目前正在马赛建设的一座大型数据中心将采用一种冷却系统，该系统可减少30%的电力消耗，且不消耗任何水资源。
Some operators of data centers argue that the facilities can be built in such a way that they save energy A large data center currently being built in Marseille will reportedly use a cooling system that requires 30% less power and consumes no water.
其他地区的数据中心，例如在斯堪的纳维亚半岛，则利用服务器产生的废热，通过热交换器和泵将其输送到区域供热网络中。
Some operators of data centers argue that the facilities can be built in such a way that they save energy A large data center currently being built in Marseille will reportedly use a cooling system that requires 30% less power and consumes no water.
今年春天，德国能源公司意昂集团（E.ON）公布的一项调查结果显示，如果数据中心能将其废热输入供热网络，近四分之三的受访者表示更愿意接受在居住区附近建设数据中心。
Other data centers, in Scandinavia, for example, use waste heat from the servers and route it into district heating networks via heat exchangers and pumps. This spring, the German energy company E.ON published the results of a survey that found nearly three-quarters of people would be more likely to welcome data centers near residential areas if they fed their waste heat into the heating network.
数据中心在美国社区面临抵制。数据中心运营商还辩称，这些设施可以通过将通常用于备用电源的电池连接到当地电网来服务公众，从而在停电或高峰用电时段确保电力供应不中断。
Data centers face backlash from US communities Data center operators also argue that the facilities can serve the public by connecting the batteries that usually provide backup power to local grids so that there is uninterrupted service in the event of power outages or at times of peak demand.
对于支持在欧洲建设更多数据中心的人士来说，这些设施不仅有助于欧洲的数字主权，还有助于加强能源独立。
Data centers face backlash from US communities Data center operators also argue that the facilities can serve the public by connecting the batteries that usually provide backup power to local grids so that there is uninterrupted service in the event of power outages or at times of peak demand.
莫尼尔·加埃迪（Monir Ghaedi）对本文亦有贡献，本文由德语翻译而来。
For proponents of building more data centers in Europe, the facilities not only contribute to the continent's digital sovereignty but also help to strengthen energy independence.
爱尔兰作家萨莉·鲁尼（Sally Rooney）曾带头开展了一场反对在爱尔兰建设数据中心的运动，并取得了成功。
Monir Ghaedi contributed to this article, which was translated from German. Irish writer Sally Rooney spearheaded a successful campaign against the building of a data center in Ireland