The Spanish Ministry for Ecologic Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has launched a public consultation on a draft royal decree that would impose strict energy efficiency and sustainability requirements on data centers in Spain.
Beyond EU Standards:
The proposed decree adds requirements that are stricter than those set out in the EED. While the EED mandates that data centers report sustainability information and consider waste heat reuse (WHR), the Spanish draft requires data centers to report to the MITECO, rather than directly to the EU database. It also requires them to provide:
- A strategy to reduce energy and water use and increase WHR, along with a report on previous years’ applications.
- Information on the direct and indirect employment generated.
- An analysis of the socio-economic impact of the data center on its local area, including data on clients and the origin and destination of data.
Furthermore, the new decree requires data centers with a total rated energy input exceeding 1 MW to perform a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for WHR. This must be done at the time of construction or substantial refurbishment.
Compliance with best practices and tough benchmarks:
The new Spanish decree also tightens the rules on compliance with best practices. Data centers with a total rated energy input exceeding 1 MW would have to report how they incorporate the latest version of the European Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency (EU CoC). Moreover, the proposed law sets a new, high bar for large data centers (over 100 MW), which would be required to prove they are in the top 15% of facilities in terms of performance for indicators like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE).
The path to implementation:
The new proposal goes a step further than the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), adding more rigorous requirements for reporting and compliance. The public can submit comments until September 15, 2025.
The new law will not require parliamentary approval. This move by Spain signals a growing trend of nations implementing policies that go beyond existing EU standards to promote greater sustainability and accountability within key industries.
