Brazil receives 38 GW in data center grid access requests as sector investment reaches $159 billion

Minister of Minas and Energia Alexandre Silveira disclosed the figures at the Lisbon Legal Forum, revealing that data center grid connection requests have surged 330 percent between 2024 and 2025. As of December 2025, the ministry registered 28.5 GW in demand for projects scheduled through 2038, a figure that has since climbed to 38 GW. The country currently operates 205 data centers with construction projects underway representing more than 114.5 billion reais in total investment.

The Ministry of Minas and Energia has documented 52 access requests to the National Interconnected System’s basic grid as of June 2026, concentrated in Ceará, Bahia, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Norte. Of these requests, 18 have received technical connection approval through ministry ordinances, while 34 remain under evaluation. Connection requests first emerged in 2020, with only 12 projects registered through May 2025, making the recent acceleration particularly pronounced. The accumulated maximum demand from these projects could reach 13.2 GW by 2035 if all receive favorable access opinions from the National Electric System Operator.

Silveira indicated that three to four major global data center companies have approached the ministry directly regarding Brazilian operations. The minister framed data center infrastructure as a national sovereignty issue, arguing that the global competition for artificial intelligence and data processing capabilities requires both technological capacity and energy security. Brazil’s renewable energy matrix, which ranks among the cleanest globally, provides a competitive advantage in attracting these energy-intensive facilities.

The federal government is pursuing legislative approval for Redata, a special regime designed to attract data center investment through tax suspensions on equipment imports. The program conditions incentives on commitments to research and development, sustainability, clean energy use, technology transfer, and national technological infrastructure strengthening. Originally introduced through Provisional Measure 1.318/2025, the proposal secured approval in the Chamber of Deputies but lapsed after failing Senate votes within the constitutional deadline. The initiative now advances through Legislative Bill 278/2026, with the ministry maintaining that regulatory framework improvements are essential to converting the country’s energy advantages into economic development and qualified employment generation.