Argentine Patagonia attracts investors in large data centers

(Central News Agency, Buenos Aires, comprehensive foreign news report on the 7th) Argentina’s Patagonia region is attracting the attention of more and more investors looking for locations to build large-scale data centers. They like the region's cool temperatures, renewable energy, shale gas and vast acreage.

Reuters reported that hyperscalers' race to build server farms around the world has been hampered by the anti-data center movement, with plans in their early stages in Argentina receiving little public attention.

Because Argentina has not yet been affected by large data centers, there is not as much opposition to server farms as there is in the United States.

Opponents in the United States argue that data centers will strain local power grids, damage the environment and drive up utility bills. Supporters say the facilities are critical to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, can generate significant local tax revenue and can become more sustainable.

The Patagonia region is located at the southern tip of South America and is known for its rugged peaks, desert landscapes and massive glaciers.

In Argentina's Neuquen province, located in the Patagonia region, large power generator Pampa Energia is promoting a plan to locate a data center next to the company's Loma de la Lata thermal power plant.

The Mapuche indigenous people live in the area and have clashed with energy companies in the past. Pampa Energy began working on the previously undisclosed project after receiving inquiries about potential data center plans earlier this year.

Argentina, which has always been plagued by high inflation, has begun to attract attention from the outside world as the overall economy becomes increasingly stable.

After Argentine President Javier Milei took office in December 2023, he used the Large Investment Incentive System (RIGI) to attract large-scale oil industry and mining investment while strengthening relations with Washington.

"Two years ago, no one would be talking about Argentina," said Steve Sasse, vice president of Latin America at datacenterHawk, a Texas-based market intelligence agency.

OpenAI announced in October last year that it would cooperate with local Sur Energy to build a data center powered by clean energy. In July this year, the Argentine Telecommunications Regulatory Authority stated that it planned to build a second fiber optic cable landing station, which would be more beneficial to the development of data centers in the Patagonia region.

Argentina currently has only small data centers concentrated in Buenos Aires, lagging behind neighboring countries.