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AWS Commits $17B To Expanding Spain Infrastructure Amid AI Boom
Cloud hyperscaler Amazon Web Services plans to invest 15.7 billion euros -- nearly $17 billion -- over 10 years to make sure its Spain datacenter is up to AI snuff.
Announced Wednesday, the new investment is a significant chapter in AWS' more than decade-long history with Spain. It significantly dwarfs its 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) investment made in 2021, which went toward the building of new cloud infrastructure in the region of Aragón.
Aragón will, once again, be the focal point of this latest infusion from AWS. The company's eu-south-2 cloud region is located there, and supports the digital operations of major local businesses such as Telefónica, Adif, IE, Insud Pharma and the Spanish Red Cross.
"AWS will expand its cloud infrastructure in Aragón with the support of the regional government, and 40% of the estimated 6,800 jobs will be located in Aragón," the company said in a press release. "In addition to jobs, over half (€12.9 billion) of the anticipated GDP contribution will come from the Aragón region."
News of AWS' Spain infrastructure buildout is on-trend; cloud rival Microsoft is also spending billions to expand its footprint in Spain. With the AI gold rush in full swing, the industry's top hyperscalers are looking to increase their datacenter infrastructure to keep up with demand, resulting in an AI-fueled land grab.
These billion-dollar infrastructure buildouts tend not to be eco-friendly, however. In Microsoft's case, for instance, the construction of new datacenters contributed to a 30 percent year-over-year increase in its carbon emissions.
AWS, which has a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2040, says it's aiming to offset the environmental impact of the Aragón buildout in a number of ways.
"We will match the electricity used in our data centers in Aragón with 100% renewable sources," said regional AWS executive Suzana Curic, "and continue to look for different ways to innovate and run our operations more efficiently and sustainably."
The Aragón datacenter is also two years into a renewable energy effort, in which it has been matching the energy it uses with 100 percent renewable energy output.
As of this writing, AWS operates 33 regions, with six more planned.