Public consultation now open on the Royal Decree regulating the requirements for energy sustainability, environmental sustainability, digital resilience and digital sovereignty applicable to data centres

The Spanish Government has initiated the fast-track procedure to pass the Royal Decree regulating the requirements for energy sustainability, environmental sustainability, digital resilience and digital sovereignty applicable to data centres. The public consultation period will remain open until 10 September at 5.00 pm (Public consultation on the draft Royal Decree regulating the requirements for energy sustainability, environmental sustainability, digital resilience and digital sovereignty applicable to data centres).

The draft Royal Decree makes the granting of permits for connection and access to electricity transmission and distribution networks conditional upon the demonstration, by means of a sworn statement, of compliance with new requirements relating to digital resilience and sovereignty; energy and water efficiency; and the correlation and additionality with regard to the use of renewable energy.

The most notable aspects of the draft are as follows:

• Data centres applying for permits for access and connection to the electricity grid must demonstrate that they meet 80 per cent of their total consumption through renewable energy generation, either through self-consumption schemes or through fixed-term contracts for the purchase of renewable electricity from facilities located in Spain, where the commissioning certificate must not predate the centre’s entry into operation or the first use of the energy by more than eighteen months.

• The criteria applicable to demand-side capacity tenders in which data centres participate will include criteria relating to digital resilience and sovereignty.

• The new requirements will apply to all data centres that are connected after the entry into force of the proposed Royal Decree.

• Applications for grid access and connection currently being processed, or those for which permits have been granted but which are not yet connected, may be withdrawn within six months of the entry into force, without the guarantees provided being enforced.

The deadline for submitting responses is 10 September 2026, at 5.00 pm.

Responses to the draft royal decree should be addressed to the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines via the email address: bzn-gabinete_see@miteco.es, stating in the subject line: “Alegaciones_PRD CPD Sostenibilidad”.