Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this week he plans to use the country’s renewable energy potential to attract data center investment, outlining the proposal in his first public address after winning re-election.
“We have to take advantage of the energy potential of a country that may have the greatest capacity for renewable energy to bring here the data centers needed to store our data in Brazil,” Lula said.
He also called for some data center capacity to be reserved for Brazilian information, linking digital infrastructure expansion to national technological sovereignty.
For the electricity sector, the proposal could create opportunities for long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), self-generation and new renewable energy projects. Project viability will also depend on grid connections, supply reliability, and transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Lula also advocated developing domestic artificial intelligence to reduce dependence on foreign technologies.
“I don’t want to keep depending on Chinese or American artificial intelligence; I want to create a Brazilian one,” he said, linking the ambition to training professionals in fields such as mathematics and engineering.
Expanding computing infrastructure for AI could increase electricity demand and the importance of renewable power supply, storage and energy management. Lula did not detail specific regulatory mechanisms or requirements for data center investors.
In September, the government enacted Redata, a special tax regime for data centers. The incentives require operators to meet their electricity demand through supply contracts or self-generation using renewable or low-emission sources.
Beyond attracting data centers, other priorities mentioned by Lula could affect the energy market.
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