Spain’s revised draft rules would give strategic computing projects, including AI gigafactories, more time and flexibility to meet some energy and water-efficiency requirements. The change could soften the obligations for projects such as the proposed AI gigafactory in Móra la Nova and San Fernando de Henares, while leaving sustainability duties in place.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
Diari ARA reports that the Spanish government has sent a revised draft decree to the Council of State after considering more than 600 public submissions and a report from the National Commission on Markets and Competition. The government aims to approve it before Spain’s 29 November general election.
Under the draft, strategic computing infrastructure, including AI gigafactories, AI factories and supercomputers, could follow a special compliance regime. The reported changes include a gradual timetable for energy and water efficiency, more time to certify additional renewable generation, and a separate route to demonstrate European sovereignty and control of infrastructure. These projects would not be exempt from sustainability requirements.
Why it matters
The distinction is consequential: strategic AI projects could face more flexible water-efficiency limits and a slower path to meeting some energy requirements than infrastructure under the general regime. That makes the rules about more than where Spain builds computing capacity. They also shape the environmental terms on which those projects can proceed.
The data-centre industry lobby, SpainDC, says the requirements remain unfeasible and has sought to influence the draft. The government, by contrast, has defended the proposal as a commitment to sustainability and digital sovereignty. The final wording will decide how much those priorities bend for projects the state considers strategic.
Our read
A special route for strategically important infrastructure may help Spain move projects forward, but flexibility is still a policy choice with real consequences for energy and water use. The key question is whether the final decree makes those projects accountable on a credible timetable, or gives them a gentler standard than everyone else.
What to watch
- Whether the Council of State advises changes to the draft.
- Whether the government approves the decree before the 29 November election.
- The final timetable and conditions for strategic projects’ energy and water requirements.
- How the decree defines European sovereignty and control of infrastructure.
Discussion spark: Should AI projects deemed strategically important get more time and flexibility to meet environmental rules, or should they face the same requirements as other data centres?
Sources and evidence
- The data centers decree dilutes the requirements for AI gigafactories like the one in Móra la Nova – Diari ARA (27 October 2026, 13:16 UTC)
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