The South American nation gets 98% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, and President Yamandu Orsi hailed the latest solar-powered project as one of the most important 'in the country's recent history'.
BSS
15 October, 2026, 02:45 pm
Last modified: 15 October, 2026, 02:56 pm
Spanish company Solaria will invest some $5.7 billion in the construction of a data center complex in Uruguay, Montevideo announced Wednesday.
The South American nation gets 98% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, and President Yamandu Orsi hailed the latest solar-powered project as one of the most important "in the country's recent history."
"In a world in which energy security and sustainability weigh increasingly heavily in investment decisions, our renewable matrix represents a huge advantage," the leftist leader said.
The "stability" of Uruguay, considered one of Latin America's most solid democracies, had led to the investment, he added.
Most of the money will go to the data centers themselves while $200 million will be set aside for a solar power plant supplying the complex, Orsi said.
A global boom in artificial intelligence and the demand for computing power that comes with it has driven a proliferation of data centers.
But the centers are facing growing hostility due to the enormous volumes of electricity and water they guzzle.
Solaria's data centers will be located in Canelones, close to Montevideo, and in the western San Jose department, according to Industry, Energy and Mining Minister Fernanda Cardona.
The company is already present in Uruguay, selling the solar energy it produces in two photovoltaic plants to the state's public utility.