Spain's data-centre royal decree in public hearing: 80% of consumption from new renewables

The Government expects to approve in October the royal decree that will regulate data centres in Spain, setting sustainability, resilience and digital-sovereignty criteria within the state IA360 strategy. According to El Periodico de la Energia, the draft submitted to public hearing will require at least 80% of a centre's consumption to be backed, hour by hour, with new renewable generation, and will give preference to facilities that arrive with that generation and that use water and land efficiently. The text, which the sector's trade body opposes, is justified on the grounds that data-centre grid access applications far exceed the 2.5 GW of effective demand forecast for 2030.