Grid plan leaves data centres with 42% of the power they sought

The plan for Spain's electricity transmission grid to 2030 sets aside 9,300 megawatts (MW) for data centres. That is 42% of the 22,000 MW the sector hoped to connect, according to Expansión. Third deputy prime minister and minister for the ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, presented the document to the permanent committee of the Congress of Deputies on 12 November, the last step before approval by the Council of Ministers.

How the plan divides the capacity

The plan covers 47,400 MW of new demand: 71% more than the 27,700 MW in the draft put out to consultation and 2,270% more than the 2,000 MW in the current plan, which runs to 2026. Some 55% will connect to the transmission grid (26,000 MW) and 45% to distribution (21,000 MW).

Total investment comes to €17,142m, 30% above the €13,188m in the consultation draft and 146% above the €6,964m of the 2022 plan. It includes 6,707 km of new lines, the upgrading of another 8,164 km and 193 new substations. "Grid planning is much more than an investment programme in infrastructure," Aagesen said. "It is a strategic bet on Spain's present and future."

The 9,300 MW allocation does not add new data centres to the plan: it covers those already granted transmission access and those added in the 2024 revision, according to Europa Press. Nor do granted rights always become buildings: a developer may request connections at several sites before deciding where to build. In September, El Confidencial put access rights already granted for data centres at more than 12 GW across transmission and distribution, while warning that they do not equate to projects built.

The 80% renewables bar

The plan arrives alongside a separate decree. The draft that will regulate data centres requires them to cover at least 80% of their consumption with additional renewable generation, matched hour by hour. It is still awaiting approval, with objections from the Council of State, and industry body SpainDC says three international investors have withdrawn projects worth €9bn, according to El Español.

The World Bank map offers a different yardstick: the share of renewables in each country's electricity mix. Only 31 of the 196 countries with data clear 80%, and most do so through hydropower (Norway 99.1%, Iceland 100%, Paraguay 100%). Spain stood at 47% in 2021; France at 22.8%, Germany at 39.8% and Portugal at 64.9%. The global median is 25%. The comparison is not exact — the map measures the national total, not the power a data centre contracts, and 192 of the 196 data points are from 2021 — but it shows that an 80% threshold is demanding even for countries with large hydro resources.

What comes next

The plan now goes to the Council of Ministers, which is expected to approve it shortly, according to El País. The data-centre decree remains open and Spain holds a general election on 29 November; technology trade bodies are calling for regulatory stability to avoid losing investment. The question is no longer how much capacity is reserved, but whether the bottleneck will be the grid or the energy conditions attached to it. And the split offers a clue: data centres receive 55% more capacity than new housing.