Massive 1-GW AI Data Centre Planned for Water-Stressed Paracatu Sparks Local Outcry
Atlas Renewable Energy, backed by BlackRock, intends to build a 1-gigawatt AI data centre in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, prompting concerns over water scarcity and environmental impact.
Atlas Renewable Energy, an arm of BlackRock, has submitted a request to the Brazilian Energy Ministry to connect a 1-gigawatt AI data centre in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, to the national grid. The project, part of the global Stargate AI network, would exceed the total capacity of Brazil’s current data centres and is expected to start partial operations in December 2027, reaching full capacity by 2030. Residents, including city council president Manoel Alves and longtime locals such as Sebastiana Neto, say they learned of the plan only through media reports and fear it will exacerbate chronic water conflicts in the Cerrado, where springs are already over-exploited.
The site falls within the Córrego do Engenho Velho water-conflict area and is only a few kilometres from a zone with 100% groundwater restrictions. While Atlas plans to power the centre with its Luiz Carlos Solar Complex, the existing 661.5 MW capacity will likely need expansion. The controversy reflects Brazil’s broader push to attract AI data centres despite lacking specific environmental regulations for such projects.
Why it matters
The data centre could intensify water shortages in a region already facing severe conflicts, affecting local communities and ecosystems.
How this story developed
- Aug 4 Texas governor pauses new data center approvals pending power grid audit
- Aug 27 Nvidia added a new tranche of GPU chips to its agreement with AWS for future data‑center deployments.
- Aug 27 Nvidia set a provisional 70% revenue growth target for fiscal 2028.
- Aug 28 New York and Texas each announced a pause on new hyperscale data centres.
- Aug 30 Judge Lesa Gelb ruled that Salem Township’s planning commission violated Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act by excluding residents from a data‑center ordinance meeting.
- Aug 30 Austin’s city council is set to vote on a resolution that would create a specific land‑use category and review process for large AI data centers.
- Aug 31 President Trump posted on Truth Social that communities rejecting AI data‑center projects will become “backwards and poor.”
- Sep 1 Nvidia announced quarterly revenue of $96.2 billion, surpassing analyst forecasts.
- Sep 2 At a virtual G‑20 technology ministers’ session, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk called for accelerated AI data‑center construction and additional power capacity.
- Sep 2 Trump labeled communities that reject data‑center projects “backwards and poor” and warned that China would welcome such resistance.
- Sep 12 The House is set to debate the Ratepayer Protection Act, a measure aimed at easing power costs for data centers and appealing to voters concerned about AI-driven utility bills. In the Senate, a crypto market-structure proposal is expected to face a tough vote amid ethics disputes involving Donald Trump, while the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act looks likely to advance with strong backing from donors. Lawmakers are racing to pass these initiatives before a three-week Senate session ends and the midterm elections arrive.
- Sep 13 Jon Husted introduced legislation to shield consumers from rising electricity bills linked to data‑center demand.
- Sep 17 A bipartisan House bill to shift data‑center infrastructure and energy costs to tech firms has been introduced.
- Sep 21 Senator John Fetterman publicly endorsed President Trump’s data‑center push, aligning with the administration despite broad opposition.
In this story
Related stories
63 in this thread