Politics · Spain · 4 hrs ago
Spain’s proposed data centre rules would be among Europe’s strictest
Spain’s government plans to approve a decree setting rules for data centres, which use large amounts of electricity.
The proposed rules would make Spain one of Europe’s most restrictive countries for building and operating these facilities, according to a comparison prepared for the data centre industry.
The requirements cover energy efficiency and the use of renewable power, and would also apply retroactively to some existing centres.
Spain had 439 megawatts of installed data centre capacity, about a third of the capacity in London or Frankfurt individually, according to the figures cited.
The government says the measures would protect the electricity grid and help contain power prices, while industry representatives and Spain’s competition regulator have called for more flexibility.
The rules could affect investment and projects already under way, the industry says.
The government still intends to approve the decree in October and must respond to 600 objections submitted on the proposal.
Spain’s proposed data centre decree would impose more obligations than rules in other major European countries, according to a PwC report for SpainDC cited by El Mundo.
The proposed requirements include stricter energy-efficiency and renewable-energy conditions.
The Spanish government says the measures are intended to protect the electricity grid and consumers’ electricity prices.
The data centre industry and Spain’s competition regulator have called for greater flexibility.
The government plans to approve the decree in October, after responding to 600 submissions on the draft.
- Who
- The Spanish government is proposing the decree; data centre companies and Spain’s competition regulator have criticised aspects of it.
- What
- The proposed rules would set strict energy and other requirements for data centres. A PwC report says Spain’s draft would impose more obligations than those in other major European countries.
- When
- The government plans to approve the decree in October 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The government says the measures are intended to protect the electricity grid and the price consumers pay for electricity.
Spanish government
SpainDC and the data centre sector
Purpose
Spanish government
The government says the measures are intended to protect the electricity grid and consumers’ electricity prices.
SpainDC and the data centre sector
SpainDC says the draft could block the sector and put investment and projects already under way at risk.
Requirements
Spanish government
The government is pursuing strict requirements for data centres.
SpainDC and the data centre sector
The sector has criticised the requirements, including energy conditions, and called for changes.
The draft received 600 submissions, including one from SpainDC.
The government plans to approve the decree at one of its next two Cabinet meetings.
- Proposed approval
- October 2026
- Submissions on the draft
- 600
- Spain’s proposed efficiency index
- PUE of 1.15
- Germany’s 2030 efficiency requirement
- PUE of 1.3
- Obligations score in PwC report
- Spain: 10; Germany and Ireland: 5 each; EU average: 1
- Installed data centre capacity in Spain
- 439 megawatts at the end of the year
What people are saying
Rechazamos el proyecto actual porque, tal y como está diseñado, supone una prohibición de facto del sector en España y nos convierte en la regulación más restrictiva de toda Europa.
La diferencia española puede influir directamente en las decisiones de localización dentro de Europa