Residents living in the hills north of Santiago, Chile have suffered a legal defeat in their fight against Amazon’s planned data center facility that they believe will destroy their neighborhood’s natural landscape.
Patricio Hernandez, who calls the mountainous area near the Andes home, expressed deep concern about the project’s impact on his community. “This hill is very important to the community; it is a green space, a place for recreation and for community,” Hernandez explained during a walk along local trails beside a nearby creek.
Local opponents challenged the project’s approval, claiming officials failed to properly evaluate a high-voltage electrical transmission line that would likely be required to power the massive facility. However, their legal challenge was unsuccessful.
Chilean environmental regulators decided in early April that Amazon’s data center project could proceed, determining that any future power line proposals should undergo separate review processes.
Amazon Web Services defended their development plans, stating the facility would use limited energy and water resources while meeting all environmental standards.
The global expansion of data centers has accelerated as companies require more infrastructure to support data storage, computing power, and artificial intelligence capabilities. This growth has sparked resistance from communities worried about excessive energy and water usage, heat generation, noise issues, and dependence on fossil fuel energy sources.
“Our approach has been to design this infrastructure with a strong emphasis on resource efficiency, incorporating technologies that minimize both energy and water consumption,” explained Rafael Mattje, AWS Southern Cone technology chief, speaking from New Zealand.
Jeff Bezos’ technology company announced major expansion plans for Santiago last year through its data center division.
Amazon Web Services plans to spend over $4 billion across Chile during the next 15 years for building, operating and maintaining data infrastructure, creating the company’s third major Latin American center alongside existing hubs in Sao Paulo, Brazil and central Mexico.
Chile’s new President Jose Antonio Kast has supported reducing regulatory barriers, and the country’s extensive fiber optic network connectivity could attract additional data center developers to Santiago.
“Chile is a magnet for this industry,” noted Sebastian Diaz, who specializes in sustainable urban development and previously advised on Chile’s national data center strategy. However, he cautioned that Chile and neighboring countries must find ways to welcome investment while safeguarding communities and the environment from harmful effects.
The Santiago facility, located approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) north of downtown, is designed to operate for roughly 30 years according to AWS. Once completed, it will join dozens of other AWS data centers throughout the Americas and more than 900 facilities globally.
Hernandez worries that building the data center and associated infrastructure will fundamentally alter residents’ quality of life.
“We wake up every day to a green hill that brings us a little joy amid the gray of the city,” he said.
