Voltalia has received the Brazilian government authorisation to develop a data centre at the Pecem port complex in Ceará state, with investment for the project estimated to total 181.7bn reais ($35.24bn), reported Reuters.
The planned project at the port will incorporate expanded wind and solar generation capacity to supply electricity to the data centre.
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A reclaimed-water cooling system is also part of the development, the government said. The facility has been granted tax exemptions.
Voltalia is negotiating with prospective customers for the future data centre, as confirmed by two sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources also stated that lender Santander has been appointed to help secure offtake agreements for the project. Both Santander and Voltalia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This scheme follows another major data centre development underway at the Pecem complex, where ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is building a contracted facility.
Ceará and the surrounding region have been attracting data centre projects, due in part to its substantial wind and solar power resources.
Brazil has set out aims to develop itself as a global hub for the data centre industry, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva making the sector a government priority.
In June 2026, Voltalia signed a Transmission System Use Agreement (CUST) with Brazil’s National Electric System Operator.
This deal secures 322MW of grid connection capacity at the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex.
The company stated that it is in advanced discussions with data centre operators and is planning renewable energy projects, mainly wind power, to meet demand for decarbonised electricity from these digital infrastructure facilities.
