Overview
- Merlin announced on Wednesday that it has selected Botorrita (Zaragoza) for the Zaragoza‑WIND campus, a single 156,000 m² building on about 28.8 hectares with an investment of roughly €1.2–1.225 billion and a target in‑service date in 2029.
- The company projects about 5,040 jobs during construction and 196 direct operational posts, and says municipal tax receipts will exceed €900,000 a year, an amount that would roughly double Botorrita’s current budget.
- Merlin secured 227.4 MW of grid access tied to the María and Los Vientos substations, plans an initial 144 MW IT capacity with potential future expansion, and proposes high efficiency measures including a PUE of 1.15 and closed, waterless modular cooling.
- The Government of Aragón declared the project of general interest through the DIGA fast‑track to accelerate permitting and Merlin says construction will follow formal PIGA approval as the route to meet its 2029 target.
- Merlin has a renewable supply agreement with Forestalia that it says predates the probe, and the company reports high self‑consumption from local wind and solar; however, the Guardia Civil investigation of Forestalia creates reputational and legal uncertainty that could affect the project’s rollout.