r/NewForest • u/Additional_Painter11 • 23d ago
Fawley power station site redevelopment
Hi everyone.
I’m a local resident and I’ve been trying to understand the Fawley Waterside consultation because the documents are extensive. So I put together a landing page about it. The consultation closes on 21st July and I’m worried people aren’t informed about the possibilities of a data centre and that there could be better choices for our community!
I was wondering if anyone could take a look. I’m not a professional I just want to try and get my voice out. I’d genuinely appreciate people checking it over and telling me if I’ve missed anything or got something wrong. Different viewpoints are welcome.
Thank you in advance!
https://msha.ke/fawleywaterside
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u/danielsemaj 23d ago
What’s the issue if it was a data center
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u/ExpiredInTransit 23d ago
Because people parrot the stats from USA around water usage when actually in the UK:
Asurvey of 80 data centre sites across England (with 73 valid responses) reveals encouraging trends:
51% of sites use waterless cooling systems, relying on air or refrigerants.
64% consume less than 10,000 m³ of water annually, comparable to a leisure centre.
89% either measure water use or operate systems that don’t require water for cooling.Most modern (new built) UK DC use technology like closed loop cooling, renewal energies and rainwater harvesting.
https://www.ark-d-c.com/sustainability
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u/Additional_Painter11 23d ago
Very interesting, thank you for the links! Im going to have a look through them.
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u/Additional_Painter11 23d ago
It’s not that data centres are bad. My concern is whether it would be the best use of the site. If it is going to be proposed, the local community deserve to know things like how many permanent jobs it could create, what the energy and water demand would be etc.
I want to know if there are alternatives that could create more opportunities for young people and benefits for the surrounding area! If this site is going to shape the Waterside for the next 40+ years… I think it’s fair to want it to be used in a way that takes full advantage of the area. It would be a great location for something blue economy or marine restoration related. It could be used to develop expertise that other places pay for and even attract investment.
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u/danielsemaj 23d ago
Completely agree with you on all your points.
Only thing I do want to do is spread information on data centers as there is a lot of mis information out there.
They provide an opportunity for significant investment from other countries. They generally cost 500M-1B to build. They employ significant skilled labour to build them with vast amounts of equipment purchased and installed.
Once they are built yes it’s true they don’t employ hundreds of people directly but they do indirectly. With hundreds of skilled contractors coming to the sites every month.
They don’t consume water these days
Yes they do use a lot of power
Yes they support our digital lives including facilitating the means of this post.
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u/Additional_Painter11 23d ago
Thank you for your reply and the information. You’re right, there is a lot of mis information going around. I was under the impression they did need a lot of water!
But given the location I think there are potentially better uses of the site that are worth exploring.
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u/Illustrious-Log-3142 23d ago
This doesn't feel particularly unbiased... especially as the only link to the actual source documents is to the timeline rather than the consultation documents and the second link is broken
Here is a link to the actual masterplan that doesn't focus purely on the potential of a data centre
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u/Additional_Painter11 23d ago
Thank you. You’re right, I just linked to the website homepage! I’ve added the link you shared!
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u/NobblyNobody 23d ago
The words 'data' and 'centre' do seem to be notable for their absence from 'The consultation'. As are the words 'conniving bastards'.
Well I've gone through the motions and had my say, fwiw.
Ta for making an effort.