Tech companies look to Argentina’s windswept Patagonia to build massive data centers

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s rugged Patagonia is drawing increasing interest from investors searching for sites for mega data centers who are enticed by the region’s cool temperatures, renewable energy, shale gas and empty stretches of land.

As tech giants known as hyperscalers race worldwide to ​build server farms and run into roadblocks amid anti-data-center campaigns, projects in initial stages in Argentina are ​developing without much public attention. Since Argentines have yet to be impacted by large data centers, the country lacks a backlash against the server farms as in the U.S., where critics ​say they strain local power grids, harm the environment and increase utility bills.