Powered by rivers and sun: Brazil's data-centre boom runs on clean electricity

The world's appetite for computing is surging, and Brazil is offering something few places can: electricity that is cheap and nearly 87% renewable, according to its Ministry of Mines and Energy. In September, the government signed the REDATA law, cutting taxes on data-centre equipment for companies that meet conditions designed to keep more of Brazil's digital life processed at home — today about 60% is handled abroad. Global firms are responding with billions in investment: Amazon Web Services has spent more than $3.8 billion in Brazil since 2011 and pledged another $1.8 billion through 2034, while Microsoft has committed $2.7 billion. Brazil is already OpenAI's third-largest market, with 215 million ChatGPT messages a day — this boom is being pulled by Brazilians, not just exported to them.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: policy reform