On 3 March, Amazon Web Services Europe announced three new water projects in Aragon, Spain, worth €17.2 million (US$18.1 million). These initiatives will include an early warning system for floods, AI-powered irrigation optimization, and infrastructure upgrades in the city of Huesca. In addition to these projects, AWS is also implementing a leak detection project in Villanueva de Gállego and a clean water supply project in Pina de Ebro, both in Aragon. This announcement aligns with AWS’s plan to establish new regional data centers. It supports the company’s goal of becoming water positive by 2030, while also enhancing the appeal of data centers to municipalities.
Over the past two years, several major players have announced investments in Spain, including tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Meta; cloud specialists Equinix and OVHcloud; investment funds Blackstone and KKR; and energy construction and services groups Repsol, Iberdrola, Solaria, and ACS. The metropolitan regions around Madrid and Barcelona, closest to major customers, have attracted the most investment. However, the project pipeline, valued at more than €33 billion (US$36 billion), is expanding nationwide, with Aragon identified as a key target.
In this Research Note:
- Spain competes with FLAPD for data center investment
- Spain balances the economic benefits of data centers against water stress concerns
- Developers incorporate mitigation measures and offsets to allay resource concerns
