AWS and Google: Two Delivery Gates in South America
New research published October 16, 2026 · Historical approvals and construction retain their dates
Amazon’s Huechuraba campus in Chile has an environmental approval upheld by a March 31, 2026 court judgment. Google’s Canelones campus in Uruguay has government-observed construction from April 14. Neither milestone establishes accepted computing service or verified operating IT capacity.
The two campuses face different delivery tests: phase-specific power at Huechuraba, and operating authorization and commissioning at Canelones. Government records, company disclosures and independent reporting establish those distinctions. This comparison was published October 16; the underlying milestones occurred earlier.
Huechuraba: a legal milestone with a phase boundary
Chile’s Segundo Tribunal Ambiental rejected a challenge to the favorable environmental authorization for Servicios Amazon Data Services Chile SpA. The dispute concerned an allegedly fragmented assessment of the campus and a withdrawn high-voltage-line initiative. EFE independently reported the decision and the project’s estimated USD 205 million investment.
The judgment describes two buildings developed in three stages. Its first-stage supply discussion relies on existing medium-voltage infrastructure; later stages depend on concessionaires’ technical feasibility. A future high-voltage development requires its own review. The court outcome therefore cannot be turned into evidence that every planned phase has power or that the campus is operating.
AWS’s broader Chile Region was announced for end-2026 with three Availability Zones and AI/ML services. Its Chile investment program exceeds USD 4 billion over fifteen years. Those are regional scopes. They are not a Huechuraba commissioning deadline, a three-building plan or campus cash expenditure.
Canelones: construction before operating acceptance
Google announced the Canelones project in August 2024, linking investment exceeding USD 850 million to digital infrastructure and growing AI demand. The Presidency’s April 2026 visit documents physical construction progress, providing a dated observation beyond the original announcement.
The environmental record identifies the campus as Los Teros and its applicant as Eleanor Applications S.R.L. Ministerial Resolution 644/2024 grants prior environmental authorization but expressly requires a separate environmental operating authorization before operation. That AAO, and dated commissioning or useful-service evidence, were not found in this review.
El Observador also reports a July 29, 2026 neighbors’ administrative challenge. Its claims and requested relief must remain attributed: a request for conditions or revocation is not a stop order. The current disposition is a separate checkpoint, not a reason to label the observed construction as commissioned.
The energy numbers cannot stand in for IT megawatts
Canelones’ revised technical assessment describes one building in four progressive modules. It models final electricity consumption below 560 GWh per year and an initial UTE agreement up to 420 GWh per year. Annual energy, contracted scope and installed IT power answer different questions; converting these figures into a campus IT rating would add assumptions the evidence does not support.
The revised cooling design uses air-cooled chillers with closed water circuits. The same assessment estimates personnel-dominated site water demand at 48.1 cubic metres per day. Air cooling therefore should not be shortened to a water-free claim, and the earlier water-intensive design should not be presented as the current one.
What investors can test next · Our analysis
For Huechuraba, seek current construction evidence, first-stage electricity acceptance and later-phase supply records. For Canelones, seek the operating authorization, accepted utility connection and first-module commissioning, together with the administrative challenge’s disposition. These records can strengthen or weaken a delivery assessment without requiring a speculative return model.
The larger question is when capital plans become useful, utilized service. Sponsor identity is documented, but neither company’s consolidated results establish campus economics. FJI retains the project estimates, regional envelope and annual-energy figures with explicit exclusions; operating IT MW, paid expenditure, utilization and attributable earnings remain unavailable. Two selected cases illustrate a diligence method, not a South American market-wide conclusion.
AWS Huechuraba project · Google Canelones project · Huechuraba FJI evidence · Canelones FJI evidence · Amazon company research · Alphabet company research · Chile directory · Uruguay directory
Sources and claim verification · 12 documents
Twelve reviewed documents across two project cases, including original government instruments, company disclosures and independent reporting. Same-issuer materials and announcement rewrites are not independent delivery confirmation. Canelones construction is documented by a dated Presidency visit; Huechuraba current construction and both campuses’ operating IT load remain unverified. No regional trend, site return forecast or whole-project certification is asserted.
- Segundo Tribunal Ambiental · 2026-04-09
The court upheld the environmental authorization for Servicios Amazon Data Services Chile SpA’s Huechuraba project. It describes an estimated USD 205 million investment and a 10.9-hectare site at Américo Vespucio 1055. Future high-voltage works require their own environmental review.
Project-specific government court summary · Project description and Antecedentes · Checked 2026-10-16
- Segundo Tribunal Ambiental, judgment R-539-2025 · 2026-03-31
The judgment describes two buildings in three development stages. The first stage can use existing medium-voltage infrastructure; later phases depend on future concessionaire feasibility. It dismisses this challenge to the environmental approval; it does not document delivered IT capacity or exhaustion of later appeals.
Original signed government judgment · PDF pp. 2–5, 19–26 and 39 · Checked 2026-10-16
- AWS News Blog / Elizabeth Fuentes · 2025-05-07
AWS announced a Chile Region planned by end-2026 with three Availability Zones and AI/ML services. This is a regional plan, not a Huechuraba commissioning date, three-building site plan or disclosure of installed AI equipment.
Original company announcement · Opening paragraphs and AWS in Chile · Checked 2026-10-16
- AWS Chile · Document date not established
AWS describes planned investment exceeding USD 4 billion over fifteen years in Chilean data-center construction, connection, operation and maintenance. The country-wide program is not Huechuraba capex or money already spent.
Current company program page · Region and investment description · Checked 2026-10-16
- EFE / Correo del Sur · 2026-04-06
EFE reports the March 31 judgment, names Huechuraba and the USD 205 million project estimate, and places it within the wider Chile program. Its country-wide installed-MW statistic is not site capacity. The report does not establish completed construction.
Independent news-agency reporting · Article body · Checked 2026-10-16
- Google / Eduardo López · 2024-08-29
Google announced construction in Canelones, investment exceeding USD 850 million and a role in meeting growing AI demand. The amount is an announced investment plan, not verified spending; the facility serves broader digital infrastructure rather than a disclosed AI-only training load.
Original company project announcement · Opening paragraphs · Checked 2026-10-16
- Uruguay Ministry of Environment / OAN · Document date not established
The dossier identifies Eleanor Applications and the Google data center at Parque de las Ciencias, Ruta 101 km 23.500, Ciudad de la Costa, Canelones. It links the technical assessment and Ministerial Resolution 644/2024 and identifies normal electricity supply from UTE.
Project-specific government dossier · Project description and document links · Checked 2026-10-16
- Uruguay Ministry of Environment, final technical assessment · 2024-04-30
The revised plan has one building in four progressive modules, air-cooled chillers and closed water circuits. It models final electricity use below 560 GWh/year, an initial UTE agreement up to 420 GWh/year, and 48.1 m³/day water demand chiefly for personnel. These are planning quantities, not operating IT load or metered use.
Original government engineering assessment · EM2023/36001/015669, reference 28; PDF pp. 1–8 and 27–33 · Checked 2026-10-16
- Uruguay Presidency · 2026-04-14
The Presidency documents a visit to the Canelones construction site and substantial building progress. This independently observed, dated milestone supports construction status, but does not establish completed testing, environmental operating authorization or customer service.
Government-observed construction milestone · Construction-site visit account · Checked 2026-10-16
- DatacenterDynamics · 2024-09-02
DCD covers the construction announcement and connects Eleanor / Proyecto Teros to Google Canelones. It describes the redesign away from the earlier water-intensive cooling scheme. The old design’s water figure is not current demand, and announcement coverage is not independent commissioning evidence.
Independent specialist reporting · Article body · Checked 2026-10-16
- El Observador · Document date not established
El Observador reports a July 29, 2026 neighbors’ administrative challenge to the environmental authorization, alleging notice and construction-impact problems. The requested revocation or conditions are not a ruling or stop order. A later disposition and any operating acceptance were not established.
Independent local administrative-risk reporting · Accessible article body; challenge date July 29, 2026 · Checked 2026-10-16
- Uruguay Ministry of Environment, RM 644/2024 · 2024-06-06
Resolution 644/2024 grants Eleanor Applications prior environmental authorization for Los Teros and related air-emission and waste-plan approvals. Clause 5 requires a separate environmental operating authorization before operation. Generator documentation, annual PUE procedures and environmental controls remain part of the operating-stage evidence.
Original government environmental authorization · Expediente 2023/36001/015669; scanned PDF pp. 1, 3, 5–6, clauses 1–5; OCR checked visually · Checked 2026-10-16
Based on public records, company disclosures and published reporting. No original interviews or site visits.
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