Aragón adds another large-scale investment to the technological transformation it is experiencing around data centers. Merlin Properties will develop a new campus called Zaragoza-WIND in Botorrita, in the province of Zaragoza, which will involve an investment of €1.225 billion and is designed to respond to the growth of cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The project will have a capacity of 144 MW IT, making it the largest data center developed so far by Merlin in Spain. The company plans to construct over 156,000 square meters and expects it to become operational by 2029.
The initiative received the Autonomous Investment Declaration of General Interest from the Aragonese government in July. Merlin subsequently indicated that the next step will be the processing of the corresponding Project of General Interest in Aragon (PIGA), necessary to move forward with the start of construction.
Zaragoza-WIND has been designed to combine the high electrical demand of a data center prepared for artificial intelligence with nearby renewable energy generation.
87% renewable self-consumption
Merlin aims to achieve 87% renewable self-consumption at Zaragoza-WIND, even before incorporating battery energy storage systems (BESS). The solution will combine solar and wind generation and, according to the company, will allow it to reach the highest level of renewable self-consumption per load factor associated with a data center in the world.
This element is particularly relevant amid the current growth of the industry. Artificial intelligence requires extraordinary amounts of computing capacity and, consequently, electricity. Thus, energy availability is becoming one of the fundamental factors determining where large data centers can be developed.
Zaragoza-WIND will have an electrical connection of 227 MW, according to the information available about the project, and will combine that capacity with renewable production.
The energy model is precisely one of the arguments Merlin wants to use to differentiate the Zaragoza campus from other European facilities.
A data center that will not consume water for cooling
The second highlighted feature is related to water. The project will utilize a modular closed-loop cooling system that will eliminate water consumption associated with cooling the equipment.
Merlin defines its strategy through the principles of Zero Water, Zero Carbon, and Big Data and anticipates that Zaragoza-WIND will achieve a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)—the metric used to measure the energy efficiency of data centers—of around 1.15. The closer this indicator is to 1, the less additional energy is required to keep the infrastructure operating beyond the computing equipment itself.
The issue of water is particularly important in Aragon. The rapid growth of data centers has opened up debates about the territorial impact of these facilities and the availability of sufficient resources to support projects that can reach industrial scale.
Thus, having new developments reduce or eliminate water use in cooling may become an increasingly relevant factor for their acceptance and viability.
Close to 5,000 jobs during construction
The economic dimension of the project does not end with the €1.225 billion investment. Merlin estimates that Zaragoza-WIND will generate approximately 5,000 jobs during its construction and over 500 permanent, high-skilled jobs during its subsequent operation.
As with other large industrial projects, it will be necessary to distinguish later between direct, indirect, and induced employment and to verify how many positions actually remain in Aragon once construction is completed. The estimate released for the operational phase indicates there will be 196 direct jobs within a total impact exceeding 500 positions.
This will be one of the important indicators for measuring the real impact of the data center phenomenon in Aragon. The committed investment is reaching extraordinarily high figures, but its contribution to the regional economy will also depend on how much skilled employment, local suppliers, knowledge, and business activity are generated around the facilities.
Merlin aims to grow with artificial intelligence
Zaragoza is not an isolated project within Merlin Properties. The company is progressively transforming its real estate business through a strong commitment to digital infrastructure.
It currently has operational data centers in Madrid, Barcelona, and Álava, while developing new facilities in Lisbon and Zaragoza. Its Merlin-Edged platform expects to have 112 MW IT operational by the end of 2026, and the company has announced developments exceeding 600 MW.
The economic results allow us to see the growing importance of this activity. Merlin closed the first half of 2026 with €308 million in revenue, an 11.7% increase, and an EBITDA of €229 million, also 11.7% higher. The company attributes much of the growth to its data center business and has already accumulated 160 MW rented or pre-leased.
The strategy also has a clear objective: to build facilities capable of meeting the demand linked to artificial intelligence. In its corporate planning, Merlin explicitly identifies Zaragoza as one of its future AI-ready campuses, alongside other major developments in the Iberian Peninsula.
Aragon accumulates projects from major operators
This is precisely where Zaragoza-WIND takes on greater significance for Aragon.
The community is not receiving an isolated investment. AWS operates its Spanish region in Aragon and has raised its investment plans related to infrastructure expansion to €33.7 billion. Microsoft is developing three other data center campuses, and ACS is also pushing a project in La Puebla de Alfindén.
Now, Merlin incorporates another €1.225 billion and 144 MW IT.
The accumulation is beginning to alter Aragon’s position within the Spanish technological map. The availability of land, renewable production, electrical connections, and geographical location are turning the region into a destination for infrastructures that require large amounts of energy and connectivity.
The arrival of Merlin also adds an important element: competition among operators. Aragon is no longer dependent on the development of a single large technology group and is beginning to gather projects promoted by different companies.
From data centers to artificial intelligence
The strategic question for Aragon is what to do with this concentration now.
Building data centers generates investment and economic activity, but the real leap would occur if an industry related to artificial intelligence also grew around these facilities: software companies, hardware suppliers, cooling and energy systems, researchers, universities, startups, specialized training, and companies capable of utilizing the enormous computing power installed in the region.
Zaragoza-WIND reinforces precisely that potential because Merlin envisions it as infrastructure prepared for artificial intelligence workloads.
The project appears at a time when Europe has just opened the competition for its future AI Gigafactories, large infrastructures intended to provide computing power to develop.
