Microsoft briefs council and provincial representatives at special meeting

On April 13, the municipality of Hollands Kroon and the Province, organized a joined meeting about datacenters and datacenter policy. The meeting was set up to inform the (new) representatives of the local and provincial council. On behalf of Microsoft, chief technology officer Rob Elsinga answered a variety of questions.

The meeting was an initiative of alderman Theo Meskers and provincial deputy Ilse Zaal. After a short kick-off, all parties involved in the datacenter development were able to explain their role and activities. In addition to Microsoft, Google, the network operators Liander and Tennet, the energy company ECW and the Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board were also represented.

Elsinga showed that Microsoft takes the integration of datacenters into the landscape seriously. For this purpose trees have now been planted around the existing facility. He also talked about a ‘precision farming’ project with 29 local crop growers. Microsoft works with them to improve agricultural efficiency. The project combines and analyses all kinds of data that influence the growth of crops, from the weather to the quality of the soil. Based on the analysis it becomes possible to, for example, determine precisely how much fertilizer or spraying is needed. This benefits the growers involved and contributes to innovation throughout the agricultural sector.

The questions of the council and state members were very diverse. This includes topics such as data protection, cooling water use and provincial data center policy. Microsoft welcomed the opportunity to discuss these questions everywhere. The entire meeting was recorded.