Patagonia’s Power Draws Global Data Centres

Argentina’s Patagonia is attracting growing interest from data-centre developers searching for abundant power, cooler temperatures and space to build at scale. The region’s natural advantages are considerable, but turning early interest into operating infrastructure will depend on whether electricity, fibre and investment certainty can develop quickly enough.

Pampa Energía is studying a data centre beside its Loma de la Lata power plant in Neuquén that could eventually consume 500 megawatts. Investors are expected to begin with smaller 20 to 40 megawatt phases, testing both demand and infrastructure before committing further. Electrical works for the full project alone could cost close to $900 million.

Elsewhere, the pipeline is growing. OpenAI and Sur Energy have outlined a clean-energy data-centre project worth up to $25 billion, while Poland’s Green Capital is planning an initial 300-megawatt development in Chubut. Patagonia’s wind resources, hydroelectric capacity and access to Vaca Muerta gas give developers several routes to secure the enormous power loads required by artificial intelligence.

Yet energy abundance does not automatically create a data-centre market. Patagonia still lacks the grid depth and international connectivity of established hubs. Argentina’s communications regulator is pursuing a second submarine cable landing point on the Chubut coast, a step intended to improve fibre capacity and redundancy.

Political certainty remains another consideration, with some investors watching the 2027 presidential election before committing large sums. Argentina has improved the investment case through its RIGI incentive regime, but projects of this scale require confidence lasting well beyond one administration.

Patagonia’s opportunity is therefore becoming an infrastructure race. Power has put the region on the map, but transmission, fibre and policy stability will determine whether that interest becomes a durable digital cluster.