Argentina’s south is attracting proposals for hundreds of megawatts of computing capacity, drawn by gas, wind, abundant land and a cooler climate. Yet most projects remain preliminary, with financing, grids, fibre connectivity and firm customer commitments still to be secured. The harder test is whether Argentina can build the power connections and fibre infrastructure quickly enough to match those ambitions.
Argentine Patagonia is beginning to surface in the global search for places to build the next generation of AI infrastructure. Across Neuquén and Chubut, energy companies, developers and provincial officials are discussing projects whose proposed scale would put them among the largest data-centre campuses in Latin America.
The attraction starts with power. Neuquén offers access to Vaca Muerta’s vast shale-gas resources alongside hydroelectricity and relatively cool temperatures, which can reduce some cooling requirements. Farther south, Chubut combines strong wind resources with large expanses of land. At a time when access to hundreds of megawatts has become a binding constraint on AI infrastructure worldwide, those advantages are enough to bring developers to the table.
Big numbers, few firm commitments
Pampa Energía is studying a data centre next to its Loma de la Lata thermal power plant in Neuquén. The eventual facility could consume as much as 500 MW, drawing on nearby Vaca Muerta gas. Pampa is already quoting electricity prices to interested parties and hopes to reach initial agreements by the end of 2026. Even so, prospective investors are considering a much smaller 20 MW to 40 MW pilot first. Pampa estimates the electrical infrastructure required for the full 500 MW build-out alone would cost almost $900 million.
Other proposals are similarly ambitious. US-based FlexDomes is seeking investors for a Neuquén project whose first phase would provide 120 MW of IT load at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion. Poland’s Green Capital, meanwhile, has outlined a 300 MW first phase in Chubut costing about $3 billion, with an eventual theoretical capacity of as much as 3 GW. The company is leasing roughly 1,300 square kilometres south of Trelew for associated wind and solar generation, but it still needs investors.
The highest-profile plan is Stargate Argentina. In October 2025, OpenAI and Sur Energy signed a letter of intent to explore a data-centre project of up to 500 MW, involving as much as $25 billion at full scale. That distinction matters: the announcement was not a final investment commitment. OpenAI’s own description says Sur Energy would develop the energy and infrastructure and form a consortium with a cloud-infrastructure developer, while OpenAI was considering becoming an offtaker. Last August, Sur Energy co-founder Emiliano Kargieman said the company was working with Neuquén to identify a site and that a definitive OpenAI contract had yet to be signed.
Power is only one piece of the stack
Connectivity is another. In July, Chubut’s government and Argentina’s communications regulator ENACOM signed a letter of intent under the Chubut Hub Digital 2030 initiative, including work towards a second international submarine-cable landing point in Argentina. Large AI facilities need more than cheap generation: they require redundant international fibre, capable domestic networks and grid connections that can be delivered on hyperscaler timelines.
Argentina is also trying to address long-term regulatory risk. Its RIGI investment regime, created in 2024 and extended in 2026, covers sectors including technology, infrastructure and energy. Approved projects can receive fiscal and customs incentives together with tax, foreign-exchange and regulatory stability for up to 30 years, a significant selling point in an economy whose volatility has historically complicated long-duration infrastructure investment.
Patagonia has therefore cleared an important first hurdle: developers are now seriously examining it. The next milestones will be less eye-catching than multibillion-dollar announcements. Firm contracts, financing, substations, transmission capacity, new fibre routes and the first operational megawatts will determine whether Argentina becomes an AI-infrastructure hub or remains a collection of unusually large proposals.