Spain sends relaxed data centre decree to the Council of State

The rules now apply only to data centres of 10 MW or more instead of 1 MW; a transition regime runs until 2031

After more than 600 comments and the competition authority CNMC's opinion on the 25 August draft, the government softened the rules: they now cover only facilities of 10 MW or more, new grid connections need newly built generation for 80% of consumption, the minimum term of power purchase agreements falls from 10 to 6 years, and a transition regime with 60% and 70% coverage applies until 2031. Operators must also accept being disconnected by Red Eléctrica without compensation; industry associations and tech groups continue to criticise the decree sharply (La Vanguardia, 26 Oct 2026). Update (2 November 2026): the Council of Ministers wants the Council of State's opinion by 5 November 2026, and the government aims to adopt the decree before the 29 November 2026 election. The new version allows five years to reach 80% renewable power and applies the environmental requirements only from 10 MW instead of 1 MW. Industry association SpainDC (including Amazon, Google and Microsoft) is trying to force a review by the European Commission, which would delay adoption by at least three months; the government denies that such a notification is required (El Periódico, 1 and 2 November 2026).