See how Big Tech is transforming Spain's landscape
American tech giants are rapidly expanding data center operations in the Aragon region of Spain, drawn by tax incentives and fast-tracked planning. While the regional government views this as an economic opportunity, the massive infrastructure projects are significantly altering the local landscape.
Why it matters
It illustrates the global environmental and social impact of the AI boom as tech companies seek energy-intensive locations outside the United States.
ZARAGOZA, Spain — Aragon's rugged plains stretch out under a clear blue sky, the buildings visible as "a few tiny cubes sprawled like a throw of dice" across the terrain — as George Orwell wrote in Homage to Catalonia, of his time here during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Today, excavators eat the earth, carving huge chunks of the landscape in the race to build the behemoths of the AI boom.
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