The third vice president of the Government and minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has defended that the draft Royal Decree to regulate data centers constitutes "an ambitious proposal, which offers anticipatory regulation in light of what has been seen in other countries," among which she mentioned the Netherlands, Ireland, or several states in the United States.
During her speech at the XIII Solar Forum, Aagesen explained that the objective of this regulation, after the Executive sent a revised version of the initial royal decree to the Council of State on Monday, is to consolidate "a commitment to sustainability, both in energy matters and in water matters - water consumption - and digital sovereignty."
The minister also emphasized that the regulatory text aims to give "an additional boost to storage and photovoltaic solar" in order to meet the commitment that data centers operate with at least 80% renewable energy while respecting the hourly correlation.
Aagesen also highlighted that, in the photovoltaic field, data centers will be allowed to acquire energy from any plant, regardless of the date it began operating, "but of course, as long as they do not have a PPA contract in force."
As she pointed out, this royal decree for data centers aims to place "competitiveness for all" at the center.
"For households and their homes, for industries, for those who want to electrify and for those who want to come to invest and generate jobs. A proposal that also includes a transitional period with intermediate objectives, a proposal that, as I said, looks to the future betting on sustainability," she said.