Amazon Data Center Rejected by Huesca Village in Historic Vote 2026

Amazon's planned data center in Walqa, near Huesca, has been rejected by the residents of Cuarte in the first local consultation of its kind in Aragon. The vote, organized by the Cuarte Neighborhood Association, saw 117 of 144 eligible voters participate—an 81% turnout—with an almost unanimous 'no' to the project.

The data center, spanning nearly 70 hectares adjacent to the Walqa Technology Park, has sparked local opposition over concerns about environmental impact, lack of information, and the project's designation as a PIGA (Project of General Interest of Aragon).

Background: Walqa Technology Park and the Amazon Project

When the Government of Aragon launched the Walqa Technology Park in 2002, it aimed to create an innovation hub on the outskirts of Huesca. Built on the former municipality of Cuarte—now incorporated into the city—the park spans about 53 hectares and had an initial budget of around €10 million.

It was designed as an R&D and testing ground for companies, primarily in ICT, biotechnology, and renewable energy. Today, Walqa has 14 buildings and around 90 organizations. Twenty-four years later, the park's name is in the news because of a plot next to it where Amazon is building a data center of almost 70 hectares.

The Consultation: A Near-Unanimous 'No'

The consultation, organized by the Cuarte Neighborhood Association, mobilized 117 of the 144 people called to vote—just over 81% participation. Four questions were posed. The first two asked whether residents felt their rights were violated by the information received and whether the declaration of the project as a PIGA demonstrated...

The results were clear: an overwhelming majority rejected the data center. This marks the first popular consultation of its kind in Aragon, a community that has ironically made data centers a major industrial bet.

Why Residents Oppose the Data Center

Residents of Cuarte, a small village of 144 eligible voters, do not want a data center just meters from their homes. Their concerns include:

• Environmental impact: Data centers consume large amounts of water and energy, and residents worry about the strain on local resources.
• Lack of information: Many feel they were not properly informed about the project's scope and implications.
• Proximity to homes: The data center would be built very close to residential areas, raising concerns about noise, visual impact, and quality of life.
• PIGA designation: The project's status as a Project of General Interest of Aragon (PIGA) allows it to bypass certain local regulations, which residents see as undemocratic.
• Precedent: This is the first such consultation in Aragon, and residents hope to set a precedent for greater local say in large-scale projects.

Implications for Amazon and Aragon's Data Center Strategy

Aragon has positioned itself as a major hub for data centers in Spain, attracting investments from major tech companies. The rejection by Cuarte residents could signal growing local resistance to such projects.

While the consultation is not legally binding, it carries significant political weight. It highlights the tension between regional economic development goals and local community concerns. The regional government will now face pressure to address these grievances or risk further conflicts. Context on how this played out before sits in Amazon Data Center Rejected by Huesca Village in Historic Vote. A companion piece, Villamayor de Gállego: From Zaragoza District to Independent Town, approaches the same subject from another angle.

For Amazon, the vote represents a public relations challenge. The company has emphasized its commitment to sustainability and community engagement, but this incident suggests it needs to improve its local outreach. The background to this story is set out in Trending: latest articles. A related thread runs through Aragón Data Centers Boom: Where Does the Tax Money Go.

What to Watch Next

The regional government has not yet commented on how it will respond to the consultation results. Possible outcomes include: Earlier coverage in Amazon to Pay Retroactive IAE Tax to Aragón Municipalities shows how the argument developed. A closer look at the same subject appears in Elon Musk Lives in a Trailer Near Memphis Data Center.

Residents and activists are expected to continue pressing their case, and the issue may become a test case for how Spain balances renewable energy and digital infrastructure goals with local democracy. Anyone following the wider picture can start with Amazon Pushes Back as Data Center Opposition Grows. The same theme surfaces in US Data Center Construction Boom: The Only Thing Being Built Now, which takes a different angle.

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