Overview
- Lawmakers rejected a 174‑megawatt, five‑building campus valued at about €2.5 billion, even though Vantage had already bought the 14‑hectare site.
- A cross‑party majority of SPD, Greens, FDP, Freie Wähler and Linke voted against the plan, with the CDU and the Freie Wählergemeinschaft in favor.
- Mayor Jörg Rüddenklau voiced relief at not deciding under pressure, and SPD leader Susanne Theisen‑Canibol said the town would not be "sold" to a billionaire investor.
- Opponents cited damage to the townscape in the roughly 20,000‑resident city, while commentators warned of lost jobs and tax revenue for the indebted municipality.
- The site’s future use remains unclear as parallel 170‑megawatt data‑center plans by EdgeConneX in nearby Maintal also encounter political resistance.