Uruguayan government begins work schedule with municipalities to develop Solaria data center project

The government has begun a joint work plan with the municipalities of Canelones , San José , and Florida to coordinate the installation of a 500 MW data center and solar power generation technology park. The project will generate 3,100 jobs during construction and 1,500 permanent jobs once operational.

The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of the Presidency, Alejandro Sánchez , and the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Fernanda Cardona .

Solaria: a $5.7 billion investment in two stages

The project, formalized on October 14th through the signing of an agreement between the Uruguayan State and the Spanish company, contemplates an investment of 5.5 billion dollars for the development of the data centers , under the free zone regime, and another 200 million dollars destined to install 350 megawatts of solar generation , which will supply the park with its own renewable energy.

The initiative will be developed in two phases. The first will include the installation of 200 MW of data center capacity and all of the planned solar generation. In the second phase, another 300 MW of data centers will be added, bringing the total to the projected 500 MW.

The facilities will be distributed across the departments of Canelones , San José and Florida .

Canelones, San José and Florida: the departments chosen for the project

Minister Fernanda Cardona explained that the selection of these three departments is based on the available energy and connectivity infrastructure, as well as the territorial conditions necessary to develop an investment of this magnitude.

“ These departments were chosen because they have a pre-existing infrastructure that supports this decision ,” he noted after the meeting.

In San José , there is the combined cycle power plant of Delta del Tigre , while Cardal , in Florida , is a transmission and distribution center of great importance to the national electricity system.

Canelones has experience in the development of infrastructure linked to data centers , based on facilities such as Antel 's and the project being built by Google .

Cardona explained that the evaluation of the locations considers three fundamental aspects: the availability of land, the proximity to electrical nodes that allow reducing connection times and costs, and connectivity. “ That made Solaria look at these three departments ,” he said.

Coordination between the national government and the municipalities

The minister reported that a work schedule has been established that will allow for the coordination of technical meetings with each of the involved municipalities.

He also explained that negotiations related to land acquisition and obtaining permits must be carried out in a coordinated manner between the national and departmental governments.

Regarding environmental matters, Cardona indicated that the potential sites selected will not affect national production . He added that Solaria holds international certifications related to the construction of data centers and that the project must comply with both international environmental standards and Uruguayan regulations.

The minister highlighted that legal security, political stability, and the country's geographical and topographical advantages are some of the factors that large international companies value when choosing Uruguay as a destination for their investments.

More than 4,600 jobs between construction and operation

Following the meeting at the Executive Tower, the mayor of Canelones, Francisco Legnani , highlighted the magnitude of the initiative and confirmed the planned investment. “ The arrival of this investment, amounting to 5.7 billion dollars, was ratified ,” he stated.

He also reported that the project will occupy approximately 100 hectares in Canelones and another 150 in San José . In Florida, the solar power plant, covering approximately 670 hectares and owned by UTE , will be installed.

The location of the first stage, which will begin in San José or Canelones, will depend on the acquisition of the land by the company, the environmental authorizations and the corresponding procedures before the respective intendancies and departmental boards.

As reported on October 14, following the signing of the agreement, in terms of labor, it is expected that by 2029 the first stage will generate 3,100 jobs during construction: 2,400 linked to data centers and 700 to photovoltaic parks.

Once the project is fully operational, it is estimated to generate another 1,500 permanent jobs.

The mayors highlighted the impact of the investment on the country

The mayor of San José, Ana María Bentaberri , praised the meeting and described the initiative as “very good news” for Uruguay. “ I leave with a very positive impression of this meeting ,” she stated.

He also emphasized the importance of the national government working jointly with the departmental governments. “We are very pleased with the national government’s attitude,” he added.

For his part, the mayor of Florida, Carlos Enciso , pointed out that UTE has the necessary hectares to develop the solar generation park in that department and highlighted that the land use has already been recategorized to enable the initiative.

Furthermore, he considered that Solaria represents "a virtuous process" for Florida , which will be incorporated into the circuit of energy projects that Uruguay is consolidating.