The investment could bring new technical jobs to Upper Austria, but its demand for electricity and cooling water has also become part of a growing political debate.
When Google broke ground on its first Austrian data centre in Kronstorf in April, the company presented the project as a major investment in Austria's digital infrastructure, with around 100 direct jobs once the facility is complete.
Only a few months later, plans for the site had expanded.
In July, Google submitted applications for a second expansion stage, covering building and trade permits for a much larger campus on the company's roughly 50-hectare site in the Linz-Land district, according to ORF.
That has turned the development into a bigger question for Upper Austria. How many jobs will actually be created? How much electricity and water could the finished campus need? And what does a project of this size mean for people living and working in the region?
A new FAQ published by the Upper Austrian provincial government attempts to answer some of those questions.
How many Google jobs will there actually be?
Google said when it announced the Kronstorf data centre in April that the completed facility would generate around 100 direct jobs.
The tech giant is already advertising a range of jobs connected to the Kronstorf site, including data-centre facilities technicians, mechanical engineers, infrastructure engineers, controls specialists, a water-treatment technician and management roles.
The qualifications vary considerably between jobs. Some technician positions accept vocational or trade-school qualifications alongside relevant practical experience, while engineering and management vacancies generally ask for more specialised experience or university-level qualifications.
Language requirements also depend on the role. Some positions specifically require German, so international applicants shouldn't assume that an English-speaking company automatically means German won't be needed at the site.
There is another, much larger employment number being used around the project.
The provincial government said Google expects around 4,600 jobs a year to be supported or secured in the wider region by 2029. Of course, that doesn't mean that thousands of people will be working for Google in the town of 3,195 residents.
Google described the larger figure as the number of jobs that will be secured annually in the wider region through 2029, but the company doesn't explain the methodology behind the estimate.
READ ALSO: REVEALED: Austria's most in-demand jobs in 2026
What about water use?
Cooling is a major issue for large data centres because servers produce considerable heat.
For Kronstorf, the water-law approval covers all possible expansion stages. According to the province, the maximum permitted withdrawal for a fully developed site is 15,200 cubic metres per day.
Actual demand is expected to vary depending on factors including the outside temperature.
Water will be taken from wells supplied by water filtered from the nearby Enns River and used for cooling.
Following concerns about the project, ORF reported in August that the water-law permit provides for several layers of monitoring once operations begin.
Volumes of discharged water and its temperature are to be measured continuously. Groundwater levels and the amounts taken and returned are also to be recorded, while monitoring and control equipment must be checked at least weekly.
An independent laboratory is also required to conduct chemical checks four times a year and submit the results to the authorities.
Provincial water experts have said that simulations indicate the effects on the Enns should be very small, including changes in the river's temperature.
Google has also announced a fund with the Upper Austrian Fisheries Association intended to improve the Enns ecosystem.
READ ALSO: Protests in Lombardy as Italy fast-tracks AI data centres
Why isn't there a full environmental impact assessment?
This has become one of the more contentious parts of the project.
An environmental impact assessment in Austria is known as an Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung, commonly abbreviated as UVP. Large projects that meet certain legal criteria must undergo this more extensive assessment process.
According to the Upper Austrian government, a legally binding decision was made in 2020 that the Kronstorf project didn't require a full UVP. Among the reasons given was that the expected cooling-water volume remained below the threshold relevant under the environmental impact assessment rules.
Separate procedures apply under water, building and trade law. The water-law approval has already been issued for the overall project. Building and trade approvals are complete for the first stage, while the corresponding procedures for the second stage are still ongoing.
But critics have questioned whether the project's rapid expansion has been examined transparently enough.
When the second stage was announced, Upper Austria's Green environment councillor Stefan Kaineder called for an independent analysis of the consequences for water, the environment, the electricity grid and power prices. A local citizens' initiative has also demanded greater disclosure about the project.
Key vocabulary
Rechenzentrum – data centre
Ausbaustufe – expansion stage or development phase
Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung (UVP) – environmental impact assessment
wasserrechtliche Bewilligung – water-law permit or approval
Abwärme – waste heat
Comments (1)