The event brought together Benito Tesier, president of CEOE Aragon and CEOE Zaragoza; Begoña Villacís, a representative of Spain’s data center sector; and Pedro Machín, president of the Aragon Energy Cluster (Clenar). The meeting also marks the start of a series of events with which CEOE Zaragoza is beginning preparations for its 50th anniversary, to be celebrated next year, and aims to focus on sectors that concern businesses while also offering significant growth prospects.
DATA CENTERS, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ARAGON
Villacís argued that Aragon has established itself as one of the sector’s leading regions thanks to factors such as land availability, renewable energy production and its strategic position. In her view, the installation of data centers should not be assessed solely on the basis of the direct jobs they create, but also by considering all the activity they generate around them. She said that some companies based in Aragon have managed to multiply their workforces by specializing in services linked to these projects.
Computing capacity will also be, according to Villacís, one of the key elements for competing in the new technological landscape. The sector representative recalled that the development of artificial intelligence depends precisely on this type of infrastructure. “AI is developed in data centers; it does not appear by magic,” she said, before arguing that having these facilities gives Aragon an advantage in tackling the digital transformation.
THE ENERGY BOTTLENECK
Growth, however, is encountering an obstacle in the capacity of the electricity grids. Pedro Machín warned that Aragon has industries seeking to increase production, electrify their processes or establish themselves in the region, but which are currently struggling to secure power capacity. He explained that some of the main industrial substations do not have enough capacity even to meet demands of a few megawatts.
For the president of Clenar, the solution lies in planning new infrastructure and taking advantage of the upcoming electricity grid planning process. Machín insisted that the aim is not to pit large consumers, such as data centers, against the rest of industry, but to build a grid capable of meeting all these needs. Pedro Machín stressed that Aragon produces and exports a significant share of its energy and still has room to develop new renewable energy and storage facilities.
TESIER CALLS FOR GROWTH TO REACH THE ENTIRE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Benito Tesier agreed that the impact of major investments must be measured beyond the jobs directly generated by each data center. The president of CEOE Aragon cited small and medium-sized companies that are investing to become suppliers for these projects and called for consideration of “everything that permeates the region” and its effect on Aragon’s value chain.
Tesier argued that Zaragoza and Aragon are facing what he described as a “problem of success,” resulting from their ability to attract new companies and projects. This growth, he explained, also requires addressing needs related to energy, housing and talent acquisition. CEOE believes that the current objective should be to manage this expansion in a coordinated manner so that new investments strengthen the business ecosystem as a whole and ensure that Aragon retains the same competitive opportunities as other regions.
