China's Data Center Boom: A View from Zhangjiakou (2025)
3 hours ago
- #renewable-energy
- #infrastructure
- #China-tech
- China's Eastern Data Western Compute (EDWC) project aims to optimize data center locations by leveraging renewable energy in western provinces.
- Zhangjiakou, near Beijing, is a key EDWC cluster due to its proximity, low latency, and renewable energy (wind/solar).
- Data centers in Zhangjiakou and other clusters often rely on coal/gas power despite being near renewable sources, raising 'greenwashing' concerns.
- Local governments promote data centers as growth drivers, but they offer few jobs or tax revenues, leading to overbuilding and underutilization.
- Energy and water challenges persist, with data centers exacerbating groundwater depletion in arid regions like Zhangjiakou.
- State-owned telecoms, cloud providers (e.g., Alibaba, Tencent), and third-party operators (e.g., Chindata, GDS) dominate China's data center market.
- New entrants (e.g., real estate firms) with little experience are rushing into data center construction, risking overcapacity.
- Xi Jinping has cautioned against unchecked data center expansion, but growth continues, especially near major cities.