Amazon’s Thane Data Centre Faces Resident Backlash Over Heat, Noise and Power Outage Fears

Residents of Thane have intensified their opposition to a proposed Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre in Balkum, citing concerns over its location in a densely populated residential area and its possible impact on the environment, electricity infrastructure and overall quality of life.

Campaigning under the banner of "Wake Up Thanekar" (WUT), the residents are opposing the proposed facility being developed by Amazon Data Services India on a 53-acre plot. The project, estimated at around Rs 47,000 crore, is expected to be one of the largest data centre developments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

For residents, however, the primary concern is not the data centre itself but where it is being built. “I am not against data centre. I am against setting it up in the middle of the town and in our vicinity. There are high-rises and three villages surrounding this centre. There are schools, hospitals and public transport like the metro near this plot. Hence, the location is wrong and hazardous,” said resident Anuradha Rode, pointing towards the proposed site from her building terrace.

WUT organised a human-chain protest on July 18 and later met Amazon officials to discuss the project. Residents said they had consulted technical and environmental experts before the meeting, but claimed that several key concerns remained unresolved.

“We went prepared for the meeting and consulted many experts regarding it. Our primary concern is about a large data centre being built in the middle of a densely populated residential area. But they failed to satisfy us on this issue,” said resident Megha Shetty.

The group has specifically highlighted concerns about heat generation, noise from nearly 190 diesel generator sets, exhaust emissions and the broader environmental impact of operating a hyperscale data centre within a residential zone.

Amazon has issued a detailed response addressing many of these concerns. On water use, the company said the Thane facility would not use water for cooling. “Amazon’s data centre development in Thane will not use water for cooling. We do not currently use water for cooling in any of our data centres in India, and we do not draw from the community’s drinking or potable water supply for cooling purposes,” the company said.

According to Amazon, the approved water allocation for the facility is 0.01 million litres per day, intended only for employee drinking water and restroom use. The company said the site would use air-cooled chillers and closed-loop cooling technology.

Residents, however, remain concerned about the amount of heat that could be generated by the facility. “They will use around 80,000 air conditioners in the data centre to cool down the machines. It is going to create a heat island in Balkum, Dhokali and Majiwada areas. Every year in summers, temperatures are already hitting new highs,” said resident Gurasis Singh.

Amazon rejected the claim that the facility would increase temperatures in surrounding areas, saying heat management has been incorporated into the design. The company said heat generated by servers would be dissipated through engineered cooling systems without affecting ambient temperatures in nearby communities.

The project’s expected electricity requirement has become another major issue. Residents fear that a large, uninterrupted power demand could place additional pressure on local infrastructure.

“This plant is coming up next to an electricity grid. A hyperscale data centre requires a heavy, uninterrupted supply of 420 MW. We have already witnessed a power cut in the last few months,” said resident Jatin Kothare.

Amazon said local electricity consumers would not be affected. The company stated that the Thane facility would receive power through a dedicated extra-high-voltage substation, planned in coordination with the utility after feasibility studies, and would not draw power from the local distribution network serving homes and businesses.

Noise pollution is another issue raised by residents, particularly because of the large number of backup diesel generator sets that are expected to be installed at the facility.

Amazon said the data centre would comply with the legal noise limits under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. It said the facility would incorporate sound-dampening building materials and insulation, strategic equipment placement, acoustic enclosures and mufflers where required.

Residents have also questioned the approvals granted for the project and the policy framework under which it has been cleared. They argue that the impact on surrounding residential communities should have been examined more carefully.

“We are not against the government, but it seems that those who gave permissions for this project did not visit the site to assess the impact this centre can have on thousands of residents,” Rode said.

Kothare said residents felt let down by the authorities over the project. “We trusted the government to do our good, but they have failed. The way this land was sold to Amazon by a developer and the subsequent ITES policy, which remains silent on such centres in residential areas, are evidence of that,” he said.