BUSINESS · URUGUAY
Key Facts
- —The country Uruguay is a small South American democracy between Argentina and Brazil whose electricity comes almost entirely from renewable sources.
- —Why it matters The government calls it the largest investment in Uruguay’s history, aimed at the global race for data centre capacity.
- —Why now President Yamandú Orsi signed the agreement with Spain’s Solaria on Wednesday 14 October in Montevideo.
- —What happened Solaria will build a 500-megawatt data centre park with 350 megawatts of its own solar power, worth US$5.7 billion in total.
- —The numbers US$5.5 billion for data centres, US$200 million for solar, 3,100 construction jobs by 2029 and 1,500 permanent jobs.
- —What it means for you US cloud and AI firms gain a large, solar-powered site in South America, near Google’s data centre in Canelones.
- —Still open Who will rent the capacity, how the centres will be cooled, and the terms of an agreement that remains confidential.
- —Power Index Uruguay ranks 7th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 45.9 points (October 2026 edition).
Uruguay data centre plans took a giant step on Wednesday 14 October, when President Yamandú Orsi signed a US$5.7 billion deal with Spain’s Solaria. The company will build a 500-megawatt park of data centres, powered by its own solar farms, in the departments of Canelones, San José and Florida.
The government calls it the largest investment in the country’s history, placing Uruguay in the regional race for the computing power behind artificial intelligence. For US readers, it adds a large clean-energy computing hub in South America, near Google’s data centre in Canelones.
What Orsi Announced in the Uruguay Data Centre Deal
Orsi, a centre-left president from the Broad Front coalition who took office in March 2025, made the announcement at the Torre Ejecutiva, the presidential offices. He said the project will run under Uruguay’s free-trade zone regime, which exempts companies from most national taxes.
The presidency said US$5.5 billion will go into the data centres and US$200 million into 350 megawatts of solar generation. That solar capacity is meant to supply the park with its own renewable power, according to the official release.
The project has two phases, the presidency said. The first covers 200 megawatts of data centres and all the solar plants, and the second adds another 300 megawatts of data centres.
Construction should need 3,100 workers in the first stage to 2029, including 2,400 on the data centres and 700 on the solar parks. Once fully running, the park is expected to employ 1,500 people permanently.
Industry Minister Fernanda Cardona said the solar plants will go up in Florida, while the first data centre phase will be in Canelones and the second in San José. She told reporters the first phase should be operating in 2029, or in 2030 at the latest.
Cardona said the new park will be five times larger than Google’s data centre in Canelones, El Observador reported. She added that the US$5.7 billion covers buildings and works only, not the equipment that will go inside.
The minister said the investment exceeds the public and private spending that shifted Uruguay’s power grid to renewables between 2010 and 2015. Orsi called the deal a signal that Uruguay is a country where the rules are clear and respected.
How the Solaria Deal Came Together
Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente, founded in 2002, is a Spanish solar power producer listed in Madrid since 2007 and part of the IBEX 35 index since 2020. It has run solar plants in Young and Mercedes, in western Uruguay, for almost a decade, selling power to the state utility UTE.
According to El Observador, the government first heard of Solaria’s interest in late February 2026, during a trip to Madrid by Presidency Secretary Alejandro Sánchez. Orsi then asked for the talks to stay confidential to avoid leaks, the newspaper reported, citing official sources.
Cardona travelled to Spain in June, and Solaria chief executive Arturo Díaz-Tejeiro visited Uruguay a month later for meetings with ministers, UTE and the state telecom firm Antel. In September a team of UTE managers went to Solaria’s headquarters in Spain to close the deal, the paper said.
The minister said the talks were closed in less than five months. The government says the project will not need extra public works, unlike earlier megaprojects such as the Finnish company UPM’s pulp mill, El Observador reported.
Not everyone was consulted, however. Darío Castiglioni, who represents the centre-right National Party, the largest opposition party, on UTE’s board, said he had not been told about the project and criticised a lack of transparency.
What It Means for You
For US technology companies, the park adds a large block of solar-powered computing capacity in a country that sells itself on stable rules. Orsi also pointed to fibre-optic coverage of 94% and submarine cables that connect Uruguay with the rest of the world.
The deal shows how the hunt for clean power for artificial intelligence is reaching smaller South American countries. Sánchez has said Uruguay competes for such projects with Paraguay, Chile and Brazil, according to El Observador.
Inside Uruguay, Orsi said the gains will go to workers, technicians, engineers and service companies, with growth reaching the interior. Cardona said the state utility UTE also wins, and officials told El Observador that UTE will supply power to the park only in emergencies.
The risks are timing and cost, since Cardona said both state teams and private firms must stick methodically to the schedule. Solaria’s own review found power in Uruguay can cost more than elsewhere in the region, the paper reported, but stability tipped the balance.
For background, read Uruguay Explained: The Country, Its Stability, Its Economy and What to Watch and Uruguay Economy 2026, Who Runs It and How. Antel’s smaller project is covered in Uruguay Bets on Green Power to Win an AI Data Centre, and our Montevideo city page covers life in the capital.
What Is Not Known
The agreement between Orsi and Díaz-Tejeiro is confidential, so its full terms, including any tax or power commitments, have not been published. The government has not said which companies will rent space in the data centres.
Officials have not said how the centres will be cooled or how much water they will use. Cardona said the energy infrastructure for the second phase will be defined later, and that phase will start under the next government.
Cardona also said the second phase could roughly double the investment figure, but no official number has been released. Until the contract is public, the US$5.7 billion total and the job estimates rest on the government’s own figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Uruguay announce on 14 October?
President Yamandú Orsi signed a deal with Spain’s Solaria for a 500-megawatt data centre park with its own solar power. The government puts the investment at US$5.7 billion, the largest in Uruguay’s history.
Where will the Uruguay data centre park be built?
The first phase of data centres will be in Canelones and the second in San José, while the solar plants will be in Florida. The project will run under Uruguay’s free-trade zone regime, the government said.
How many jobs will the project create?
The government expects 3,100 construction jobs in the first stage to 2029, with 2,400 on data centres and 700 on solar parks. Once fully running, the park should employ 1,500 people permanently.
Who is Solaria?
Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente is a Spanish solar power producer founded in 2002 and listed on the Madrid stock exchange since 2007. It already runs solar plants in Young and Mercedes that sell power to Uruguay’s state utility UTE.
Why does the deal matter to US readers?
It creates a large, clean-powered computing hub in South America, near Google’s data centre in Canelones. The tenants have not been named, but parks of this kind usually serve cloud and AI companies.
Sources: Presidencia de la República, 14 October 2026 (www.gub.uy); Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Minería, 14 October 2026 (www.gub.uy); El País, 14 October 2026 (www.elpais.com.uy); Montevideo Portal, 14 October 2026 (www.montevideo.com.uy); El Observador, 14 October 2026 (www.elobservador.com.uy); El Observador, 14 October 2026 (www.elobservador.com.uy).
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