Proposed AI data center in Oton faces scrutiny

Residents and local officials in Oton, Iloilo pressed a Norwegian proponent for answers over the possible impact of a proposed P20.3-billion ($330-million) artificial intelligence (AI) data center on the community’s water supply, electricity resources, and environment, prompting the project owner to walk out of a public consultation on Aug. 14.

Norwegian project owner Daniel Stefan Robertsen, associated with Norway Green Energy and WS Hyperscale AI Campus, walked out of the venue after residents and local officials pressed for clearer details about the proposed facility during a public forum.

“If you don’t want it, let’s stop the discussion now,” Robertsen said before leaving the venue.

The WS Hyperscale AI Campus is proposed on an 8.19-hectare site in Barangay Abilay Sur, with an initial capacity of 10 megawatts that would eventually expand to 50 megawatts.

Reportedly designed to handle demanding workloads such as AI training, AI inference, and cloud computing, the facility is expected to require substantial water and electricity resources.

Residents and officials questioned the project’s estimated initial water requirement of roughly 500 cubic meters daily, primarily for cooling, amid concerns over the sustainability of local water resources.

Furthermore, potential strain on Oton’s power grid also became a major concern as residents and officials sought details on how the facility would meet its substantial electricity demand.

Oton Vice Mayor Jose Neil Olivares criticized the proponent’s departure, saying the project owner should have remained at the consultation to answer the concerns raised by residents.

“Kun nag-walk out sia, that means he’s withdrawing his proposal. Ti, daw indi manami. Supposedly he should be gentleman enough to answer all our questions. Kay ti sila ang naga-propose,” Olivares told reporters after the consultation.

(If he walked out, that means he is withdrawing his proposal. That is not good. He should have been gentleman enough to answer all our questions because they are the ones proposing the project.)

Olivares said the municipal government still needed to examine the proposal’s advantages, disadvantages, and implications for the community before reaching a decision.

“Aton gina pasiguro sa mga natungdan nga pumuluyo nga aton tun-an sing maayo ang tanan nga anggolo kag implikasyon antes kita mag hatag sang desisyon sa sini nga proyekto,” Olivares emphasized.

(We assure the concerned residents that we will carefully study all aspects and implications before making a decision on this project.)

Oton’s Sangguniang Bayan has yet to endorse or approve the proposed data center, with the project remaining under committee review.