Green Data Centers: The Opportunity That Could Transform the Costa Rican Economy  

The new "gold rush" isn’t found in mines—it’s in data.

The explosion of Artificial Intelligence and cloud services has triggered a global race to build data centers that are larger, more powerful, and, above all, more energy-efficient.

International investment banks agree: this will be one of the most significant investment drivers of the next decade.

This pressure is forcing nations to rethink their electrical grids, regulations, and development strategies. For Costa Rica, far from being a problem, this trend presents a historic opportunity.

While some countries view this energy-cultural challenge as an insurmountable barrier, for Costa Rica, it represents a monumental comparative advantage.

Our electrical system, powered almost entirely by renewable sources, is currently one of our most valuable assets. In a world where environmental reputation and carbon commitments carry as much weight as operating costs, a country offering clean energy, political stability, legal certainty, and a strategic location becomes irresistibly attractive to the global tech industry.

However, we are not the only ones to have identified this window. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, has made bold moves to become a regional hub for digital infrastructure. They have invested massively in renewable energy, modernized their grid, and built an ecosystem that blends capital, technology, and regulatory speed.

In just a few years, they transitioned from observers to protagonists in the Middle Eastern data center market. Their strategy proves that when a country aligns its energy vision with its technological vision, it can attract investments previously deemed unreachable. The results are already visible: Abu Dhabi and Dubai now top the global rankings for emerging data center markets. Driven by AI workloads, data localization policies, and an aggressive digital transformation agenda, their market is projected to triple by 2030.

Costa Rica could follow a similar path, but with an advantage the Emirates had to build from scratch: a consolidated, green power matrix. We should even explore a strategic collaboration with the UAE, leveraging their expertise in structuring megaprojects, opening markets, and partnering with global tech players.

In many ways, the synergy between Costa Rica and the Emirates is evident: we have an abundance of water; they have an abundance of sun. These are two distinct, highly reliable, and complementary renewable matrices that could combine to create pioneering green data center projects. A strategic alliance would integrate Emirati experience in megaprojects and energy transition with Costa Rican strengths in clean generation and institutional stability. A Costa Rica–UAE alliance in sustainable digital infrastructure could accelerate our learning curve, enhance our competitiveness, and position us as a natural bridge between Latin America and the Middle East.

Developing data centers is not merely a matter of cables and servers. It involves multi-million dollar investments, cooling infrastructure, power grid expansion, specialized construction, technical talent, new supplier chains, and, above all, a distinct international positioning. A country that hosts critical infrastructure for the digital economy occupies a different place in modern geopolitics. It becomes relevant, visible, and strategic.

Costa Rica is, quite literally, designed to lead this segment. The question is not whether we can attract world-scale data centers; the question is whether we will have the regulatory agility, the national vision, and the political determination to do so before the opportunity migrates to other destinations such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Singapore, or Chile.
For years, the country has sought a way to diversify its economy without losing its identity. This is it. Green digital infrastructure is not only consistent with our international image but could also become the centerpiece of our next national growth cycle.

If we act with vision, we could position ourselves as Latin America’s most attractive destination for the technological infrastructure of the future. If we do not, others will do it for us. The window is open today; it will not remain so forever.

Costa Rica has what the future demands: clean energy, stability, and positioning. We only need to decide if we want to be protagonists or spectators.

David Gutiérrez Swanson December 2025