Zaragoza-based engineering firm Krolmap is proposing a 225 MW data center in Belchite, Aragón, designed to operate without a connection to the electricity grid. The plan calls for six buildings across 25 hectares in the La Legua industrial estate and an investment of €1.5 billion. Krolmap presents it as Spain’s first data center of this kind.
The proposed site would use carbon dioxide as its refrigerant and combine renewable power, batteries and cogeneration to meet demand around the clock. The project also includes three gas-fired plants, according to the information available. Its planned water infrastructure includes stormwater tanks and an on-site treatment plant, alongside 3 MWp of solar capacity and two 750 kW wind turbines.
Key details remain undisclosed. No tenant, equipment supplier or financial partner has been named, and the project’s renewable generation capacity has not been made public. UNITNAVE reports that it has not appeared in official bulletins or in a resolution from Aragón’s environmental institute, INAGA. DatacenterDynamics has also noted that emissions from cogeneration and the storage required when renewable output is insufficient would need assessment.
CO2 is used as a refrigerant as an alternative to fluorinated gases. The source reports that these systems operate at around 50 bar and can save energy through free cooling. However, using CO2 for cooling does not remove emissions associated with electricity generated by burning fuel.
Krolmap’s proposal is its second data center project in the province. The firm is also planning a facility of up to 150 MW in Villanueva de Gállego, where it has bought more than 20,000 square metres and is proposing on-site power generation.
The Belchite plan comes amid growing debate over data center energy use and grid capacity in Aragón. Red Eléctrica puts approved grid-connection capacity for data centers in the region at 3,700 MW, more than twice Aragón’s peak demand. The proposal’s off-grid design may therefore avoid a direct connection, though its fuel mix and environmental impact remain unresolved in the information published so far.
Sources: Xataka.