Spain: two data centres to absorb 70% of Aragon's electricity
Two mega data centres in Aragon, Spain, would consume nearly 70% of the region's electricity without environmental assessment. The industrial sector is at risk.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Aragon: two mega data centres set to absorb 70% of its electricity
In Calatorao, a municipality in the province of Zaragoza with just over 3,000 inhabitants, Blackstone plans a data centre campus with more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity. The second phase, according to Ecologistas en Acción, would consume 58% of Aragon's entire electricity demand. Combined with Azora's project, the two would absorb almost 70% of the electricity the region consumes today.
An environmental exemption that smells like a shortcut
The Aragonese government is not requiring a full environmental assessment for Blackstone's project. INAGA, the regional environmental authority, justifies this on the grounds of improvements to the current planning framework; Ecologistas en Acción filed objections and argues the project does not meet the requirements to be declared of general interest. The organisation points out that the second phase, with more than 1,000 megawatts, would consume 58% of the region's demand. All for an infrastructure that, once up and running, employs a minimal workforce.
Bluff or power play: the two readings
Some see an energy sovereignty problem: massive water consumption, few jobs and a suspiciously low tax bill. The image that sums it up best: arrive, plug in, wreck the place and leave. Others dismiss it as a bluff, noting that half of all announced data centres are never actually built.
To those asking why they are not built in Segarro, the technical answer is blunt: a lack of international connectivity, an unstable power grid and, above all, the fact that Spain is the submarine cable hub of southern Europe. There is plenty of sun, but without fibre there is no paradise.
And the figure that stops you in your tracks: industry accounts for 25.1% of Aragon's GDP. If electricity prices rise, it will not be the servers that pay the price, but factories and farms. The question is not whether Aragon can afford the data centres, but whether it can afford what comes with them.
In Calatorao, a municipality in the province of Zaragoza with just over 3,000 inhabitants, Blackstone plans a data centre campus with more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity. The second phase, according to Ecologistas en Acción, would consume 58% of Aragon's entire electricity demand. Combined with Azora's project, the two would absorb almost 70% of the electricity the region consumes today.
An environmental exemption that smells like a shortcut
The Aragonese government is not requiring a full environmental assessment for Blackstone's project. INAGA, the regional environmental authority, justifies this on the grounds of improvements to the current planning framework; Ecologistas en Acción filed objections and argues the project does not meet the requirements to be declared of general interest. The organisation points out that the second phase, with more than 1,000 megawatts, would consume 58% of the region's demand. All for an infrastructure that, once up and running, employs a minimal workforce.
Bluff or power play: the two readings
Some see an energy sovereignty problem: massive water consumption, few jobs and a suspiciously low tax bill. The image that sums it up best: arrive, plug in, wreck the place and leave. Others dismiss it as a bluff, noting that half of all announced data centres are never actually built.
To those asking why they are not built in Segarro, the technical answer is blunt: a lack of international connectivity, an unstable power grid and, above all, the fact that Spain is the submarine cable hub of southern Europe. There is plenty of sun, but without fibre there is no paradise.
And the figure that stops you in your tracks: industry accounts for 25.1% of Aragon's GDP. If electricity prices rise, it will not be the servers that pay the price, but factories and farms. The question is not whether Aragon can afford the data centres, but whether it can afford what comes with them.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (28 replies).
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