A data center is being proposed on the site of a former waste management plant in Tuscany, Italy.

The CNA Toscana Centro, Order of Architects of Pistoia, and the Rural Vivaistico Ornamentale District of Pistoia, have launched a project proposal to transform a former waste management plant in the village of Dano into a data center.

The proposal is part of Cantiere Recovery Pistoia; a group and mission dedicated to creating proposals to improve the local area and make the best use of the PNRR recovery fund.

President of CNA Toscana Centro, Claudio Bettazzi, said : "The presence of a data center in our territory, through an appropriate public-private initiative, would bring exclusive ultra-fast connectivity, and activate innovative evolutions to be applied in economic activities such as cloud computing, big data analysis, robotics, but also within public services.”

The CNA, translated as National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises is an association for local artisans, entrepreneurs, and SMBs. The organization said the new data center would be an important facility for Tuscany and Central Italy.

President of CNA Pistoia Città, Massimo Iozzelli, added the facility could be used as part of a district heating scheme to heat local homes, businesses and greenhouses.

Maurice Nio, the Dutch designer of the extension of the Pecci Museum in Prato, is the proposed project’s architect. The design shows a cube measuring some 100,000 sqm, with some local press suggesting it would be around 20MW. Nio said the Dano area was “perfect” for a data center.

“Pistoia is a city that needs a rapid organizational intervention of adequate digital infrastructures,” said the President of the Order of Architects of Pistoia, Serena Zarrini. “A data center is a place where organizations can store their data and applications on servers business, in a safe and stable environment. From an infrastructural point of view, the data center is the beating heart of the business.”

Mayor Alessandro Tomasi told Report Pistoia he was satisfied with the proposals as they follow the Administration's aim of favoring the economic development of the city. The area is potentially being earmarked for a paper recycling plant, though there appears to be some resistance to the idea from local officials.