Spanish Data Center Regulation Draft Faces Pushback from Industry and Activists

• The Spanish government has released a draft royal decree to regulate data centers, triggering over 600 amendments.
• Industry lobby group SpainDC claims the proposed requirements make the sector unviable, while environmentalists argue the regulations are insufficient to protect water and energy resources.

Sector Impact and Scale

• Spain hosts 159 operational data centers, with 22 under construction and 52 planned.
• A single planned Meta facility in Talavera de la Reina is estimated to consume as much energy as 248,000 households.
• SpainDC, representing tech giants like AWS, Google, and Microsoft alongside major energy and construction firms, estimates 66.9 billion euros in potential investments by 2030.

Key Regulatory Debates

• Energy Mandates: The government draft proposes that at least 80% of energy consumed by data centers must be from new renewable sources until the total national grid mix hits 90% clean energy.
• Water Usage: Critics highlight a lack of specific water consumption restrictions during drought scenarios, contrasting usage by data centers with cuts imposed on local agricultural irrigators.

Criticisms and Demands

• Environmental collectives argue that the current draft fails to prioritize decarbonization for the rest of society or protect biodiversity.
• Analysts note that the projected data center expansion in regions like Aragon could require up to 39% of the region's surface area to be covered in renewable installations to power them.
• Civil society groups demand greater transparency, the application of the precautionary principle for new projects, and a focus on socio-economic utility rather than unrestricted capital growth.