Spain proposes strict renewable energy rules for data centres

The Spanish government is drafting regulations to impose strict renewable energy and sustainability requirements on data centres with at least 1 MW of grid-access capacity. The proposed rules aim to manage the surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure.

A central requirement of the draft is that facilities must match at least 80% of their electricity consumption with additional renewable generation on an hourly basis. This ‘minute-by-minute’ sustainability mandate seeks to ensure that data centres support the development of new renewable capacity rather than competing for existing clean energy. To meet this, operators may use self-consumption or power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a minimum duration of 10 years, provided the renewable plants begin operating no more than 18 months before the data centre starts consumption.

Non-compliance could result in severe penalties, including network and system-charge surcharges of up to 500% or the loss of grid-access rights. The regulations also aim to prevent speculation regarding grid access, following reports that developers have reserved approximately 12 GW of capacity—significantly higher than the 3.5 GW to 4 GW of compute-related demand projected in Spain’s 2024 AI Strategy.

Beyond energy, the proposal includes thresholds for water efficiency and power usage effectiveness (PUE). It also introduces digital sovereignty and cybersecurity obligations, requiring infrastructure operators to be established within the European Union to align with EU strategic autonomy and green taxonomy goals.