The Minister of the Environment today guaranteed that the water intake in Sines that served the former thermal power plant is owned by the State and said that the Government took possession in a legitimate manner.
Maria da Graça Carvalho, who was speaking at a parliamentary hearing in the Environment committee, explained that the Government took legitimate possession of the water intake and handed it over to the company Águas de Santo André.
“This concerns a public asset, because water is public and due to environmental impacts,” said the minister, noting that she was displeased with EDP’s decision to file a precautionary injunction.
About two months ago EDP filed a precautionary injunction regarding the transfer of the water intake to the management of Águas de Santo André. The water intake, in S. Torpes, served to cool EDP’s thermal power plant, which has since been dismantled.
The minister, who was answering a question about whether the water was already being used for a data center, said that the precautionary injunction process had been resolved and that the central case is now before the court. “But we assume that the water intake is owned by the State,” she stressed.
Also questioned about the energy and water costs of data centers, the minister explained that data centers are not considered an energy-intensive sector and therefore are not prioritized in terms of energy, as an industry.
Regarding water needs, the Portuguese Environment Agency assesses the projects, and data centers are required to present cooling solutions that do not necessarily involve the use of water, she said.
Afterwards, “with all rigor,” an environmental impact study is conducted, the minister said, not denying that there is a “Government strategy” to attract “worthwhile” data centers, which will always have to pass through “those filters” of energy, water and assessment.
