Google is moving forward with its Teros data center plans in Uruguay.
The company has now applied for the environmental permits necessary for the development and has confirmed that construction will go ahead on its second Latin America data center.
Google acquired 30 hectares in the Parque de las Ciencias free trade zone in Uruguay for development in May 2021 after first announcing plans in 2020.
Little movement had been made on the project until recently, when the company presented the Environmental Impact Study and Project Document in order to obtain the Preliminary Environmental Authorization (AAP).
Current plans suggest construction will begin in March 2024.
“For Uruguay, it is an excellent sign, in the sense of the advance of innovation, technology, and the digital economy,” said the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado
The announcement “places the country in a privileged position to take advantage of the opportunity to capture investments in the dynamic and growing data storage market, derived from the explosive development of Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and Big Data," added Delgado.
The planned data center was coming into doubt in July 2023 after Uruguay experienced severe droughts. With the project expected to use up to 7.6m liters of potable water every day, the government and Google were struggling to come to an agreement on using the resource for cooling the building.
The company has since "redefined" the size of the data center (made the project smaller), and has switched to an air cooling system.
The confirmation follows a meeting between Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, and the ministers Omar Paganini (Industry and Commerce) and Robert Bouvier (Environment), along with Google representatives, Eleonora Rabinovich, head of government relations and public policy for Hispanoamerica, and Tamar Colodenco, Manager of Government Relations and Public Policy for the Southern Cone.
Google is also working on its Firmina subsea cable that will connect Myrtle Beach in South Carolina to Las Toninas, Argentina; Praia Grande, Brazil; and Punta del Este, Uruguay.
