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Mumbai Families Suffer As Data Centers Keep the City Hooked on Coal (theguardian.com)

(Tuesday November 25, 2025 @05:40PM (msmash) from the elsewhere-in-the-world dept.)


Two coal plants in Mumbai (in India) that were [1]scheduled to close last year continue operating after the state government of Maharashtra reversed shutdown decisions in late 2023 and extended the life of at least one facility by five years. The largest single factor the Indian conglomerate Tata cited in its petition for an extension was increased energy demand from data centers.

The Guardian reports that Amazon operated 16 data centers in Mumbai last year. The company's official website lists three "availability zones" for the city. Amazon's Mumbai colocation data centers consumed 624,518 megawatt hours of electricity in 2023. That amount could power over 400,000 Indian households for a year. Residents of Mahul live a few hundred metres from one coal plant. Earlier this year doctors found three tumours in the brain of a resident's 54-year-old mother. Studies show people who live near coal plants are much more likely to develop cancer. By 2030 data centers will consume a third of Mumbai's energy, according to Ankit Saraiya, chief executive of Techno & Electric Engineering. Amazon's colocation data centers in Mumbai bought 41 diesel generators as backup. A report in August by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy identified diesel generators as a major source of air pollution in the region.



[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/24/mumbai-datacentres-coal-air-pollution


DOS Attack? (Score:2)

by Vlad_the_Inhaler ( 32958 )

Is something going on? Slashdot is really slow at the moment and when I tried to RTFA on the Guardian, it timed out completely.

Re: (Score:3)

by PPH ( 736903 )

Sorry. Slashdot's coal plant just went off line.

Re: (Score:2)

by Vlad_the_Inhaler ( 32958 )

Panic over. I did some testing on my connection and while Download speeds were pretty much normal, Upload speeds were in the region of 800kb.

Then I ran my ISP's speed test and it told me to restart the modem (I'd reset the connection in the modem an hour or so earlier, no real change).

Some sites had been behaving normally, others were functionally unreachable. Now all is back to normal - the problem was in my four walls.

Re: DOS Attack? (Score:1)

by blue trane ( 110704 )

Were you traffic-shaped by buggy AI-generated software?

Simple solution (Score:4)

by PPH ( 736903 )

Just relocate Tata's and Amazon's Mumbai headquarters a few hundred meters downwind of the coal plants. Move the families presently affected into the vacated mahogany lined corporate offices.

You can't blame everything on AI (Score:2)

by allo ( 1728082 )

If your energy provider doesn't manage to provide a healthy energy mix, then blame your energy provider, not its customers. Data Centers are not building Coal Power plants, they buy the energy others provide. Some talk about plans to build nuclear, but I only believe it when I see it. And good luck to Altman with his fusion plans.

Re: (Score:3)

by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 )

Counterpoint: Sure we can. We track and predict energy usage pretty well and base capacity additions off of that. If there is a sudden consumer of energy that throw the consumption rate up a bunch it's fair to ask what that is and if the utility it is providing is worth the cost.

The question is if AI wasn't there would these coal plants be operating or would the rest of the grid be able to keep up.

Re: (Score:2)

by allo ( 1728082 )

Maybe the question is also if anyone should live that near to coal plants. Who planned the plant/the city?

How else do you propose they power them? (Score:2)

by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 )

Right now, these plants are the only option to power these data centers.

Re: How else do you propose they power them? (Score:1)

by blue trane ( 110704 )

Do you hallucinate a lot?

Build stationary bikes with generators (Score:2)

by FudRucker ( 866063 )

Hire the poor to peddle for two meals and a small wage or whatever is fair

Should you feel sorry for residents? (Score:2)

by u19925 ( 613350 )

The Tata coal plant in the article was build in a very remote location long time ago. Almost all the residents complaining moved there later. It is like you have been grilling burgers all the time and then someone moves in your neighborhood and complaints for smoky smell.

That does not mean that the plant should not be shutdown. But there are always trade offs. However, the residents can move out if they are not happy with the plant.

What is more important, your lungs or AI slop (Score:1)

by Mes ( 124637 )

Only one contributes to tech bros profits.

Osborn's Law:
Variables won't; constants aren't.