Government aims to approve data center royal decree before November 29

The Government expects to approve the royal decree establishing requirements for data centers in Spain before the general elections on November 29, 2026. The Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Óscar López, indicated that the Executive is working toward that goal, although the regulation has not yet completed its legislative process.

The State Council, the last indicated step

The project already has the report from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). According to available information, the file is pending the assessment by the State Council, which will conduct the legal examination of the text.

The CNMC has recommended relaxing certain aspects, particularly the requirements for additionality—linked to renewable energy coming from new generation—and the hourly correlation between consumption and renewable production. The final scope of these potential changes will depend on how the legislative process progresses; sources do not specify whether the Government will incorporate them.

The Executive intends to send the text to the Council of Ministers via the urgent route at the end of October or the beginning of November. The goal is to approve it and publish it in the Official State Gazette (BOE) before the elections. This is a planned schedule, not a completed approval.

What the project proposes

The proposal establishes that data centers must certify that at least 80% of their annual electricity consumption comes from self-consumption or long-term contracts with renewable facilities. For the latter, the project sets that their start of operation must not be more than 18 months prior to that of the data center.

The regulation is led by the Ministry for Ecological Transition, along with the departments of Economy and Digital Transformation. The text also contemplates sustainability, resilience, and digital sovereignty requirements, although available information does not detail all its criteria or the final wording of each obligation.

The schedule depends on pending legislative steps

López has defended that the regulation must allow the development of these infrastructures without their energy demand harming other consumers or sectors. This is the position expressed by the minister; the project is not yet approved, and its obligations could vary during the final review phase.

Since the royal decree does not require parliamentary approval, the Government seeks to complete the procedure before the electoral call. For now, the confirmed milestones are the CNMC report already issued and the pending assessment by the State Council. Approval in the Council of Ministers and publication in the BOE remain objectives of the Executive, not accomplished facts.