SpainDC , the Spanish Association of Data Centers , raises its concern after analyzing the Draft Royal Decree that will regulate the energy sustainability, environmental, resilience and digital sovereignty requirements of the sector.
The Association will submit objections to the text and is calling for substantial changes before its final approval. SpainDC shares the Government's objectives of sustainability, efficiency, digital sovereignty, and orderly growth. However, it believes that the design, intensity, accumulation, and timing of certain requirements could jeopardize real investments, hinder the viability of mature projects, and significantly reduce Spain's competitiveness compared to other European markets.
If the Royal Decree is approved, Spain would be positioned as the country with the most restrictive regulatory framework in the European Union, in a radically different direction from other EU countries, which combine sustainability and sovereignty with the ability to attract new digital investments.
The text also affects projects initiated under the previous framework, some of which may take years to develop.
“We are talking about companies that make very long-term investment decisions. When an administration grants an access and connection permit, a project can begin to commit land, financing, construction, equipment, energy contracts, and agreements with third parties. The rules can change, but structurally altering the conditions of these investments and granting barely six months to adapt raises a very serious problem of legal certainty and proportionality,” says Emilio Díaz , president of SpainDC.
“Regulating growth cannot mean driving away the investment that Spain has attracted for years. Regulations that aim to strengthen our digital sovereignty could end up achieving the exact opposite: that investment, jobs, and computing power will be located outside of Spain,” says Begoña Villacís , executive director of SpainDC.
The concern is no longer merely theoretical. Investment projects and plans are beginning to consider alternative locations in other European markets in anticipation of a potentially more rigid, less predictable, and difficult-to-reconcile Spanish framework with the actual development timelines for these infrastructures.
“The demand for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital services isn't going to disappear just because that infrastructure isn't built here. It will be built elsewhere, and that's where the digital services will be provided to Spanish businesses and citizens,” Villacís adds.
The economic dimension of what is at stake is enormous. The latest SpainDC Annual Report estimated €66.9 billion in cumulative direct and indirect investment between 2026 and 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario, while in a restrictive scenario that investment figure could be reduced by 36%.
However, what was considered a restrictive scenario a few months ago may now seem even moderate compared to the potential impact of the known text. That scenario already started from a negative forecast, with network restrictions, greater regulatory difficulties, delays, and projects shifting to other markets, but it did not foresee a framework of this intensity or the accumulation of requirements introduced by the current Draft Royal Decree.
Based on market knowledge and direct experience in the development and operation of these investments, SpainDC estimates that, if the text were approved in its current terms, between 80% and 90% of new investment likely to choose Spain as a destination could be put at risk.
SpainDC shares the need to combat speculation and free up electricity capacity associated with projects lacking realistic prospects for completion. However, it argues that this should be achieved using criteria such as maturity, committed investment, actual progress, and milestone achievement, clearly distinguishing between a speculative reserve and a genuine project. Other key concerns include the combination of additionality and renewable correlation, energy and water efficiency requirements, contractual rigidity, and the surcharge system.
The Association also questions the process followed. The president of SpainDC has contacted the minister and the heads of the relevant state secretariats requesting an extension of the hearing period and the immediate establishment of a technical working group with the sector. As of the closing date of this communication, SpainDC has not received a response to these requests.
“The government told us it wanted to work hand in hand with the sector. However, we received an extremely detailed document, with very significant consequences for investments already underway, and an extraordinarily short window to analyze it. If there is a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue, we need time and a forum where that dialogue can produce effective changes,” Díaz points out.
SpainDC is confident that a much more reasonable, proportionate regulation, compatible with Spain's competitiveness, can be achieved during the legislative process. The Association will maintain a constructive and fully cooperative approach to achieve this. Better regulation does not mean lowering ambitions; it means making it possible for real investments to be made here and not in other European markets.