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Noise Protests Close Paris Data Center (datacenterdynamics.com)
judgecorp writes: Data center firm Interxion has been ordered to close a data center in Paris over protests from residents. The local group complained about noise and large quantities of stored diesel fuel at the site, saying that the consultation which allowed it to open in 2012 was flawed. Now Interxion's license has been revoked and it has two months to appeal
Well, if government changes its mind long after serious money is spent, the government should pay for it.
I don't know if it will, but it should.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
It probably depends on where the cited flaws in the original assessment were found. If it's demonstrated that noise and other nuisances associated with the study were downplayed by the company that owns the datacenter, then they'll probably simply be on the hook. If an outside company did the assessment and screwed it up, if France requires companies to post bonds for this kind of work, then their bond will be pulled.
Either way, if the operating conditions of the datacenter don't match what was promised to the neighborhood and licensed, it should not be the neighborhood's responsibility to put up with it.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
After RTFA, I made this translation:
"Back in 2012 this company asked for a permit to build this data center. We, the local residents, didn't bother reading much of anything regarding it, didn't do any research whatsoever into what would be involved, and didn't show up at any of the hearings where these things were discussed. Now, after abdicating all personal responsibility years ago, we suddenly want to hold the data center owners responsible for our negligence. We've organized a squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease campaign and co-opted local politicians and judges into doing our bidding because it gets them free publicity. In the end, the only losers will be the data center owners (and, of course, their clients) who, after all, are probably wealthier than we, the local residents, are and therefore we hate them."
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
And I thought battling U.S. bureaucracies was ugly. Why anyone would try to operate a business in Paris that isn't a bank, restaurant, shop, or tourist trap is practically beyond reason.
John
The community college in my neighborhood is in the process of replacing 50-year-old buildings. The old baseball field in the middle of campus was closed. City council and neighbors approved a baseball field next to the neighborhood. Which was fine until the 80-foot-tall poles for the nets to capture the baseballs went up, creating an instant eyesore. That little detail got left out of the scaled model that everyone saw. The poles came down, the new baseball field became a new soccer field for the campus and neighborhood teams, and the baseball team plays at the minor baseball stadium until a permanent solution can be found.
In the US, the rules for noise and emissions from generators are generally pretty solid. If the summary is correct, their complaints are more noise and *quantity* of diesel storage on-site. The quantity shouldn't be an issue, although in the US we would generally try to use ballistic tanks if close to the property line or any sensitive locations.
Noise can be a couple things-- cooling towers too close to the property line without any acoustic treatment, air cooled chillers without an acoustic screen wall... but the most annoying one is a procedural issue of testing (or operating) the generators in early morning hours.
I had a project where we had a lynch mob ready at the gates while we were running a generator for 8 hours starting at 8AM on a Saturday. Never put a critical facility close to a wealthy neighborhood...
There are heaps of scenarios which would lead to a different conclusion if, for example, the company was dishonest. Apparently, companies sometimes don't tell the truth. It would be quite possible for the company to not have built what it applied for, or for some important facts about the plan to have been omitted, or intentionally mis-represented.
Another possibility is that the planners are corrupt, or simply incompetent and the application should have been rejected.
As has been suggested, it's possible that the residents messed up, but i've a feeling this is unlikely.
I imagine an appeal will get to the bottom of this, and some sort of compromise would be the most likely outcome.
Joe Biden bows before the power of AC, and resigns from the election. Never let it be said that stupid AC first posts are pointless, for they can change the course of American politics!
This quantity of fuel is treated as a potential risk in France and in the EU mostly due to industrial catastrophes such as Seveso (Italy) in 76 or AZF in 01. The zoning laws are now pretty strict for sites having large stocks of flammable/explosive materials. It also appears that this data-center has several aerial container.
For the noise, my guess is that the court ruling is only temporary and will require the owner of the facility to shield the sources.
There's also the converse which is that if you're doing anything in a big city, you have to be mindful that there are people living next door. If you can't adapt to that environment without making it worse for those who live around you, you should move to somewhere more suitable.
I appreciate the Ameri-centric nature of Slashdot means many here have never lived in a (real) city, and their sole experience of one is watching a movie where sounds of sirens and car horns blowing is used to audibly signify that something is shot "at night, in a city" (one of many examples of Hollywood/TV having it in for cities, for some reason), but in the real world, virtually no cities - not even New York - sound like that, and the vast majority of cities, while never silent, are as quiet as suburbia during the evenings and nights.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
It occurs to me this problem could go away if Paris had reliable power.
Hospitals store about the same amount of fuel, have similar chiller requirements, and periodically fire up their backup generators to ensure functionality.
in the US we would generally try to use ballistic tanks if close to the property line or any sensitive locations.
I'd prefer the tanks were tethered securely to the ground.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Have you ever seen a MEGA-watt generator? We aren't talking about your Honda inverter generator to power a few appliances. We're talking about large, industrial generators that could power a small city!
(The old Interpath "data center" in RDU had two! 1.2MW generators. 2 decades later (long after the company evaporated), it looks like one of them is still there. At the time, we joked that CP&L was installing backup power for Morrisville -- in 1997, they could've powered most of the city.)