Story
Alibaba in Talks with Spain's Solaria to Power Data Center, Report Says
Summary
Chinese tech giant Alibaba is reportedly in preliminary discussions with renewable energy producer Solaria to power a potential data center in Spain, signaling a continued expansion of its cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe.
Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) is in preliminary discussions with Spanish renewable energy firm Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente (BME: SLRS) to supply power for a potential data center in Spain, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter. The move represents the latest step in the Chinese technology giant's push to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure across Europe.
Details of the Potential Partnership
The discussions are reportedly in an early phase and center on a Solaria plant located in Puertollano, roughly 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Madrid. The plan would see the data center run on renewable energy.
According to the report, the talks for the Spanish facility are at an earlier stage than other European data centers Alibaba has recently announced. The company is also said to have spoken with other potential power suppliers for the project.
Strategic Expansion in Europe
This potential development is part of Alibaba's broader strategy to bolster its AI and cloud computing footprint in Europe, placing it in more direct competition with U.S. rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft. The company recently announced it will establish its first cloud regions in Finland and the Netherlands over the next 12 months and is also expanding its data center presence in Germany and France.
AdAlibaba is one of China's most aggressive investors in digital infrastructure. In 2025, the company unveiled a $53 billion, three-year investment program focused on AI and has indicated plans to increase capital expenditure further.
Regulatory and Political Context
Alibaba's interest comes as the Spanish government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, seeks to attract greater Chinese investment. It also aligns with new rules being prepared by the administration to govern the data center industry.
These regulations, expected by the end of the year, would require that any new energy demand from a data center be matched by newly installed clean-energy capacity. The rules are also expected to mandate that Spanish data centers be operated by EU-based companies and that operational data be stored within the bloc.
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