Catalonia is taking off as a pole of attraction for data centers. According to the employers' association Spain DC, the community will capture 1,200 million euros from 2023 to 2026, which is about 300 million euros a year. The investment will go towards the construction and equipment of these warehouses, which are located mainly in the Barcelona area. “70% of the resources will go to the purchase of technological equipment and the remaining 30% to building and human capital. A data center is highly digitized and employs approximately between 50 and 60 workers”, Manuel Giménez, executive director of Spain DC, details this newspaper.
In 2022, the community achieved 120 million investment and 24 MW of installed and confirmed power, 41% more than the previous year. Currently, the territory hosts a total of 15 data centers, although Giménez points out that this figure is not relevant, since it could decrease in the future. “Some investments will go towards concentrating power in strategic centers”, points out the manager, who highlights the commitment of multinationals such as Equinix and Digital Reality.
These companies serve large groups in the telecommunications, industry, technology and digital entertainment sectors. “The presence of these centers is key since it allows accelerating the digitization of the economy. We estimate that the indirect impact of the investments in Catalonia will be 2,200 million euros until 2026”. In addition, he assures, the polluting emissions from the new centers will be less than the current centers since they will use renewable energy.
The rise in investment in Barcelona is explained by the fact that the city is positioning itself as a gateway for connections in Europe thanks to the arrival of new submarine cables and various 5G initiatives. In this sense, the Catalan capital competes with other European cities, especially Marseille, while it is complemented by Madrid, which, instead of being strong in connections, has been gaining ground in data storage for years. In fact, the Spanish capital has up to ten times more installed power than Barcelona, according to Giménez's calculations. However, the employers assure that the Catalan city is showing much higher growth rates, to the point of becoming a reference hub for hyperconnectivity in southern Europe.
