Eric Boonstra, VP & GM of Iron Mountain Data Centers Western Europe explores
how Amsterdam’s data center industry is working toward a more sustainable future. Explore sustainability goals in the European data center market.
Eric Boonstra, VP & GM, Iron Mountain Data Centers, Western Europe
Sometimes challenges can lead to unexpected benefits. That was the case recently in the data center industry here in Amsterdam.
In June 2019, Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer in the Netherlands announced that no new data centers would be approved until 2020. Existing data center projects could continue construction, but all new permits were paused for one year.
Local administrators had seen the Dutch data center industry’s rapid growth of 10-15% annually over the past seven years. They felt there was no mechanism to manage the sector’s increasing demand for land and power. They were concerned that the industry used many resources, but seemingly employed very few people. They wanted a