The Spanish government has decided to regulate the country's rapid deployment of data centers. The avalanche of announced projects, which is three times the official forecast, has led the government to promote a royal decree establishing stringent requirements for energy sustainability, water efficiency, and digital sovereignty. The regulation, which has already begun its public consultation process under expedited procedures, aims to ensure that only the best-designed projects with the lowest environmental impact are ultimately able to connect to the electrical grid.
The initiative, developed by the Ministries for Ecological Transition, Economy, and Digital Transformation, responds to the mandate of Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 and seeks to anticipate the problems that the data center boom has caused in countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United States, where electricity prices have skyrocketed and grid imbalances have been created. With this regulation, Spain aims to select the best projects—those that offer the greatest benefits with the lowest environmental and territorial costs.
Energy and environmental sustainability requirements
The proposed regulation establishes that data centers with a power output exceeding 1 megawatt (MW) must comply with the highest levels of energy and water efficiency of the European labeling system, which is currently being developed by the European Commission and is scheduled to come into force in August 2027. Until then, the same standards set out in the draft Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364 apply, requiring category A in both energy efficiency and water consumption.
One of the most significant measures is the requirement that 80% of each data center's electricity consumption come from newly installed renewable energy sources. This means that each new megawatt consumed must be matched by one megawatt of renewable energy installed within the 18 months prior to the facility's commissioning, either through self-consumption or long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). Furthermore, this supply must be verified hourly; that is, for each hour of operation, at least 80% of the electricity consumed must be renewable and generated within that same period.
The aim of this requirement is to prevent increased electricity demand from driving the use of natural gas for power generation if renewable energy sources do not grow proportionally. According to government sources, such a scenario would lead to higher electricity costs for all consumers, as is happening in other countries. With this measure, the government also seeks to ensure that data centers do not become a drain on existing renewable energy capacity, but rather contribute to the creation of new green generation.
Digital sovereignty and resilience
The draft royal decree also incorporates requirements related to resilience and digital sovereignty. Data center operators must be established in the European Union, and the data, metadata, and records they process as part of the center's operation must remain within EU territory. Furthermore, controls on access from third countries will be strengthened, and facilities hosting information from public administrations or that could affect national security will not be permitted to supply such data to third countries.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Administration will be responsible for verifying compliance with these requirements, the violation of which could ultimately result in the loss of access and connection rights to the electricity grid. All data centers, above a certain threshold, must submit a declaration of responsibility confirming their compliance with these digital sovereignty criteria.
Conditional access to the electricity grid
Data center projects seeking access to the electricity grid must demonstrate compliance with all these requirements to obtain access and connection rights. Failure to comply will result in escalating penalties on applicable charges and tolls, and ultimately, the loss of the access right itself. These surcharges will offset the additional costs that non-compliance with the additionality and time-of-use correlation obligations for renewable energy consumption could impose on the system and, consequently, on electricity bills.
Projects already underway will have six months to adapt to the new requirements and demonstrate compliance, or three months if they are awaiting a tender for access to the electricity grid. Should the new requirements render some developments unfeasible, exit clauses are also included that would allow developers to waive their access and connection rights without the corresponding guarantees being enforced.
Publication of information and transparency
Additionally, all data centers larger than 500 kilowatts (kW) must submit data on their energy efficiency and sustainability to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364, for annual publication. Those larger than 1 MW must also indicate whether and how they comply with the best practices of the latest version of the European code of conduct on energy efficiency for data centers.
The industry has expressed concern about some of the proposed measures. SpainDC, the data center association, has stated that it shares the objectives of sustainability and digital sovereignty, but warns that regulation must be proportionate and aligned with the European framework to prevent Spain from becoming one of the most difficult markets for developing digital infrastructure. Ametic, for its part, has called for measures to avoid fragmentation of the digital single market.
The government, for its part, maintains that the measure does not represent a moratorium or a halt to investments, but quite the opposite. Spain has an Artificial Intelligence Strategy that estimates approximately 2,5 GW of computing power by 2030, which would require 3,5 GW to 4 GW of electricity demand. However, the applications and permits granted for these types of installations far exceed this target, with more than 12 GW of access and connection rights to the electricity grid having been granted since 2021. With this regulation, the government aims to ensure that the projects that ultimately materialize are the most efficient and sustainable, contributing to the digitalization of the economy and the EU's digital sovereignty.
The period for submitting comments will be open until September 4, and the government plans to expedite the approval of the royal decree before the end of the year. The new electricity grid plan with a 2030 horizon, currently under study, will be key in determining which data center projects will ultimately be connected to the grid and which will remain outside the system.
