With around thirty infrastructures planned in its territory and billions of euros of investment at stake, the Government of Aragón has requested a “comprehensive review” of the draft royal decree proposed by the central Government to curb the massive deployment of these technological complexes in Spain.
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As it warns, the draft presented by the Ministries of Ecological Transition and Digital Transformation could “de facto, result in a ban on the activity of an entire sector,” since many of the requirements are “impossible to meet,” and it exposes public administrations to property claims from promoters who have already advanced in the deployment of their facilities under a legal framework different from the one now planned to be established. “None of the centers planned in Aragón meet the Government’s requirements,” warned the Minister of Economy, Eva Valle.
Faced with the “serious risk” that the document poses to the investments announced in Aragón, which exceed 54 billion euros already with institutional backing, its technicians submitted their allegations yesterday, structured around five threats.
Firstly, the regional government requests a review of the energy requirements set out in the draft, which require covering 80% of the consumption of these server warehouses with renewable energy, with hourly correlation between generation and consumption and using renewable energy parks that have been operational, at most, a year and a half before the data center. For Valle, these are milestones of “impossible compliance,” which in practice represent an “almost full restriction” on the development of these infrastructures, both those already underway and future projects.
Technology
For Aragón, the energy requirements represent an “almost full restriction” on the sector
Another key point is the retroactive nature of the regulation, which affects projects already in advanced stages of development. For Aragón, this represents a “substantial alteration” of the regulatory framework under which significant investment decisions were made, generating “legal uncertainty” and increasing “the risk of litigation and possible property claims against public administrations.”
Furthermore, the Aragón Government understands that this regulatory project would provide the country with a “significantly more restrictive” regime than other European countries, which would represent a competitive disadvantage that could promote the relocation of investments to them.
Finally, it also points to the lack of a rigorous evaluation of the economic effects and on competition in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Report of the proposal. Something considered important for a regulation “of this magnitude,” with effects on employment, economic activity, investment, and the competitiveness of the most affected territories, including Aragón.
For all these reasons, the community requests this “comprehensive” review of the text, including the more demanding energy requirements and the reconsideration of the transitional regime planned to avoid its retroactivity, a process encouraged to be developed in conversation with the autonomous communities and the affected sectors. “As it stands now, these requirements represent an almost de facto ban on the sector,” Valle insisted.
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