Endesa maintains that the latest modifications included in the Government's draft royal decree to organize the deployment of data centers in Spain "are insufficient" to effectively eliminate the barriers that hinder investment.
During a conference call with analysts to explain the group's results for the first nine months of the fiscal year, Endesa's Director of Institutional Relations, Regulation and Sustainability, José Casas, warned that the final version sent by the Executive to the Council of State "could mean slowing the development of data centers in Spain and ultimately limiting part of the upside potential of electricity demand growth and the associated investment opportunity in generation and networks".
Casas specified that, although this regulation "does not have a direct impact on Endesa", he emphasized that activity linked to 'data centers' represents "a strategic opportunity for Spain" by favoring the deployment of renewables, the strengthening of electrical grids, job creation and the development of AI.
Even so, after admitting that the latest version "introduces some flexibility", he considered that it remains stricter than that of other countries, since the 80% hour-by-hour renewable energy correlation requirement remains the main condition.
He also pointed out that, despite the transitional regime of up to five years to reach the 80% correlation representing "some relief", it ultimately forces these centers to integrate into the automatic power reduction system (SRAP), which "could expose them to disconnection from the grid without compensation".
Regarding the general elections next November 29, Casas said he was convinced that the long-term pillars linked to electrification, the push for renewables and supply security will remain intact, as they have "broad political support at the European and national level".
Priority: network planning and capacity auctions
In any case, the executive emphasized as a priority issue the approval of the 2025-2030 network planning, which still has to pass the parliamentary process, and expressed confidence that it will be validated "before or immediately after the elections, regardless of the result".
In the same way, he called for accelerating the development of the capacity market and the non-peninsular auctions, which "do not depend on the normal parliamentary activity and are urgent given the current condition of the market".
Regarding the electric system capacity market, Casas pointed out that he expects the first auctions to take place "probably before 2027", as it is a "crucial tool to provide adequate investment signals for the technologies that provide firmness and flexibility to the system".