Microsoft has planned to invest $2.4 billion in a data center project in Spain. This investment aims to bolster Aragon’s status as a cloud storage hub.
This announcement raises Microsoft’s total planned investment in Aragon to nearly €6.7 billion, according to regional leader Jorge Azcón. It follows a similar move by Amazon, which announced in May that its cloud computing division would invest €15.7 billion to expand its existing data centers in Aragon, where it currently operates three facilities.
“This is great news for the Aragonese economy,” Azcón said, emphasizing the anticipated economic benefits and the potential to attract more companies to the region. Microsoft had initially announced in October its intention to build a data center campus in Aragon to provide “cloud services to European companies and public bodies,” without specifying the investment amount at that time.
According to figures from IDC consultancy, Microsoft’s 88-hectare (217-acre) campus project could create over 2,100 technology jobs in Aragon between 2026 and 2030. “Data centers will undoubtedly play a fundamental role as the first link in the chain… that will generate investment, innovation, and a wider range of digital services in our community,” Azcón stated.
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In recent months, major tech companies have been increasing their investment in data centers to store the vast amounts of information used by businesses and individuals. This growth aligns with the rising demand for generative artificial intelligence, which requires locations with robust electrical capacity due to the high energy consumption of data farms.
Aragon is considered an ideal location for such projects, being a sparsely populated region with abundant sunshine and strong wind exposure, home to both solar and wind farms, and well connected to Spain’s communications networks.
