Amazon Web Services (AWS) has taken a new step in expanding its cloud region in Aragón. The documentation published in the Official Gazette of Aragón (BOA) confirms the final partial approval of the Aragón General Interest Plan (PIGA) for the interior building and development projects of Phase 1, along with the electrical substations associated with the data centers in Villanueva de Gállego and Huesca. Although this is not yet the full approval of the entire plan, it is a significant milestone toward moving from the urbanization phase to the construction of buildings and critical infrastructure.
The deployment is part of a much larger investment. Amazon announced in March 2026 that it would increase its commitment in Spain to €33.7 billion to expand its data center infrastructure and enhance cloud and artificial intelligence services across Europe. According to the company, the AWS Europe Region (Spain), located in Aragón, will contribute €31.7 billion to the Spanish GDP by 2035 and support an average of 29,900 full-time jobs in local companies annually.
Water, runoff, and cooling: the less visible side of the cloud
The new administrative progress includes a dimension increasingly relevant in the debate about data centers: water management. In Villanueva de Gállego, the project includes a stormwater tank for rainwater storage and buffering, with a minimum capacity of 3,204 m³. BOA documentation specifies that the sizing has been calculated for the entire parcel, including buildings and perimeter roads, for a 100-year return period.
In Huesca, within the Walqa area, the approach goes further. The project plans for two water basins designed for recycled process water and surface runoff, which will be used for cooling the data center during summer months. Beneath these basins, two stormwater tanks will be constructed, and on their surface, a photovoltaic plant will be installed—an innovative solution described in the documentation that links to compliance with the Technical Building Code.
This measure is important because data centers face increasing pressure regarding their energy consumption and territorial impact. The cloud seems intangible to users, but it depends on buildings, power lines, cooling systems, water supply, fiber optics, physical security, and industrial maintenance. In a region like Aragón, which aims to position itself as a tech hub for southern Europe, water and energy infrastructure are not optional; they are integral to project viability.
The Ebro Hydrographic Confederation reported, according to available information, the origin resource availability to support the measures included in the PIGA. Nevertheless, the design of stormwater tanks, reuse basins, and buffering systems demonstrates that data center expansion can no longer be separated from detailed environmental planning. The challenge is not just capacity for computing, but integrating it within a territory constrained by physical limits and increasingly stringent regulations.
Dedicated substations for an energy-intensive infrastructure
The other major approved component concerns electrical substations. BOA documentation details projects for the VDG1HV 132/20 kV substation in Villanueva de Gállego and the WQA1HV 132/20 kV substation in Huesca. The estimated cost for the first is €17,403,013.85, while the second reaches €22,094,974.35. In total, these amount to nearly €39.5 million invested in electrical infrastructure linked to the new data centers.
The Huesca substation will be powered via a new double line connected to the Esquedas electrical substation, owned by Endesa. The project includes three 132/20 kV transformers of 50/65 MVA, two voltage regulation reactors, and GIS and medium-voltage switchgear buildings. Such detailed planning helps understand the project’s real scale: these are not just technological buildings but industrial facilities with energy needs comparable to large production complexes.
For AWS, having dedicated or own electrical infrastructure is a basic condition to support growth, redundancy, and availability. For Aragón, these investments have a dual significance. On one hand, they strengthen the region’s position as an attractive location for cloud, AI, and digital services. On the other, they require coordination with electrical networks, land-use planning, and environmental oversight.
The Aragón Government already supports that the progress of the PIGA enables the start of construction for several buildings destined for new data centers and services in Walqa and Villanueva de Gállego. The approval includes detailed projects for Phase 1 in Villanueva de Gállego 1, Villanueva de Gállego 2, and Walqa, along with interior urbanization, data center buildings, substations, water treatment plants, fire safety systems, and electrical and mechanical infrastructure.
Aragón’s increasing footprint in the European cloud landscape
AWS’s expansion arrives amid a competitive effort in Europe to attract data centers. Madrid, Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Ireland are competing for investment, energy, land, connectivity, and talent. Aragón’s success stems from a combination of available land, connectivity, renewables, and a streamlined process via projects of general interest, positioning it on the map of major cloud providers.
This strategy is not without debate. Data centers promise investment, indirect employment, activity for local suppliers, and technological capacity, but they also raise electricity demand, occupy land, and prompt water management considerations. Achieving a social license depends heavily on transparency regarding consumption, impacts, mitigation measures, and tangible benefits for the territory.
AWS states that its data centers in Aragón compensate their electricity use with 100% renewable energy from their opening in 2022 and invest in solar and wind projects in Spain, including several in Aragón. They also support hydro projects with the goal of being “water positive” before 2030.
Artificial intelligence further intensifies this debate. Each new model, inference service, or cloud platform requires more computational capacity, storage, and network resources. Europe aspires to be a leading AI user but also needs physical infrastructure to host critical services and data securely, within its regulatory frameworks. AWS’s infrastructure in Aragón is part of that tangible layer of the digital economy.
The approval of the PIGA does not conclude the entire process. The BOA itself reminds that the partial final approval does not exempt further processing of the remaining projects nor the need for full approval of the overall plan. This leaves open the development of other sites and phases, especially where environmental or additional permits are needed.
The news about stormwater tanks may seem secondary compared to the announced €33.7 billion investment, but it illustrates much about the new reality for data centers. Cloud infrastructure is no longer measured solely by regions, availability zones, or AI chips. It now also involves basins, substations, environmental permits, reused water, solar panels, and the capacity to embed digital infrastructure within specific territories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has Aragón now approved regarding AWS?
The Aragón Government has approved the partial final authorization of the PIGA for AWS’s Phase 1 interior building and development projects, along with electrical substations in Villanueva de Gállego and Huesca.
How many stormwater tanks are included in the project?
The documentation includes a stormwater tank in Villanueva de Gállego with a minimum capacity of 3,204 m³, and two tanks beneath the planned water basins in Huesca related to recycled water storage and runoff management.
What is the purpose of these tanks?
They serve to store and buffer rainwater, reducing the impact of heavy rainfall events and helping manage surface runoff within the data center infrastructure.
What electrical investment is listed in the documentation?
The projects for the VDG1HV and WQA1HV substations amount to nearly €39.5 million, with €17.4 million allocated to Villanueva de Gállego and €22.1 million to Huesca.