Alibaba and Solaria Discuss Renewable Power for Spanish Data Center
Alibaba has held preliminary discussions with Spanish renewable energy producer Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente about potentially supplying electricity for a data center in Spain, according to Bloomberg’s October 2 report, as summarized by Investing.com. The Solaria installation under consideration is in Puertollano, approximately 240 kilometers south of Madrid. Alibaba has also reportedly approached other potential electricity suppliers, making the conversations an exploratory step rather than a confirmed supply agreement.
The potential arrangement brings together two infrastructure priorities: expanding computing capacity and securing the electricity needed to operate it. For Spain, the practical question is how additional digital infrastructure can develop alongside renewable generation without placing disproportionate pressure on electricity networks or other consumers.
A potential addition to Alibaba’s European expansion
The reported Spanish discussions follow Alibaba Cloud’s plans to establish new cloud regions in Finland, the Netherlands, and Turkey over the following 12 months. The company is also expanding its existing data center footprint in markets including Germany and France, according to Data Center Dynamics. These announcements provide the wider context for its interest in Spain, although they do not establish a commitment to a Spanish facility.
A cloud region gives customers access to computing infrastructure in a particular geographic market. Expanding this footprint can support demand for cloud services and artificial intelligence applications, while bringing infrastructure closer to customers.
However, the commercial value of a location depends on more than demand for digital services. Developers must also assess electricity availability, connection schedules, cooling requirements, and operating costs. These considerations help explain why discussions with energy suppliers can be an important part of evaluating a potential site.
Puertollano Already Has a Data Center Proposal
Separately from the reported Alibaba talks, Puertollano City Council has published details of Solaria’s proposed data center development at its La Nava industrial facilities. In a September 21 announcement, the municipality described an investment exceeding €150 million, an initial 40-megawatt plant, and approximately 90 direct jobs. It identified late 2027 as the prospective start of operations.
On September 24, the council announced unanimous municipal support for the 40-megawatt project at La Nava II, covering approximately 41,456 square meters. That decision represents progress in the local development process, rather than evidence that the facility is operational.
The municipal announcements provide useful context for Solaria’s activities in Puertollano. They should not, however, be treated as confirmation that Alibaba will occupy the proposed facility or that its potential electricity arrangement has the same capacity, investment value, or delivery schedule.
Renewable Electricity and Reliable Supply
Spain offers a substantial renewable electricity base. Red Eléctrica, the national transmission system operator, reported that renewables supplied 55.5% of national electricity generation in 2025. That figure describes the annual generation mix, rather than the renewable share available to an individual consumer in every operating hour.
This distinction matters for data centers, which require highly reliable electricity supplies. A solar supply arrangement can contribute renewable generation, but a facility operating through the night also needs arrangements covering periods when solar production is unavailable. The eventual supply structure would therefore be central to assessing any project’s environmental performance.
The International Energy Agency identifies servers, networking equipment, cooling systems, and backup infrastructure as components of data center electricity demand. Cooling alone can account for approximately 7% of consumption in efficient hyperscale facilities and more than 30% in less efficient enterprise facilities. Procuring renewable electricity and reducing the electricity needed to deliver computing services are therefore complementary priorities.
Spain Proposes Hourly Renewable Matching
Spain’s proposed data center regulation could significantly influence future supply arrangements. In its August 27 explanation of the draft, the government proposed requirements for installations exceeding 1 megawatt, including renewable electricity procurement and energy and water efficiency standards.
Under the published proposal, at least 80% of electricity consumption would need to be matched with renewable generation in each operating hour, until renewables exceed 90% of the electricity mix. The proposal also links new data center consumption to newly installed renewable capacity, using self-generation or power purchase agreements. These are proposed requirements, rather than settled conditions that can automatically be applied to Alibaba’s discussions.
In practical terms, hourly matching places greater emphasis on when renewable electricity is generated. A procurement strategy would need to address the facility’s consumption profile across the day, rather than relying solely on an annual renewable energy total.
The draft also addresses digital sovereignty. The government’s explanation calls for infrastructure operators to be established in the European Union and for data associated with operating the center to remain within EU territory. The published explanation does not establish that Alibaba would be excluded.
What Developers and Energy Suppliers Need to Resolve
The scale of prospective demand makes electricity planning particularly important. Spain’s energy ministry says data center projects have received more than 6 gigawatts of transmission access capacity since late 2023 and around another 6 gigawatts of distribution access capacity since 2020. Access permissions represent potential demand, rather than electricity consumption from completed facilities.
For renewable developers, computing infrastructure offers a potential source of long-term electricity demand. For operators, evaluating a site requires aligning power availability, permitting, construction, and renewable procurement.
The reported Alibaba-Solaria conversations illustrate that intersection. Their significance will depend on whether they produce a binding agreement and, if so, how the final project addresses reliable supply, additional renewable generation, efficiency, and Spain’s evolving regulatory requirements.
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