Utility–operator partnerships gain prominence in a data center market that EY expects to grow almost sixfold by 2030

Grid access, grid-connected land and renewable supply are becoming decisive for project delivery, amid analysis of Spain’s draft Royal Decree.

SPAIN, October 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The development of data centers in Spain has entered a phase in which access to energy matters as much as technology. The latest analyses from EY, CBRE and PwC agree that the availability of power and grid connection has become the main constraint on bringing the project pipeline to fruition. Against this backdrop, partnerships between utilities and data center operators are establishing themselves as a way to accelerate investment and reduce project uncertainty.

A market that could grow almost sixfold

According to EY’s report on the impact of the Spanish government’s draft Royal Decree on data centers, published on October 16, Spain could go from 439 MW of installed computing capacity to around 2,500 MW by 2030. The same analysis estimates that this growth would mobilize €66.9 billion in cumulative investment and more than 16,000 jobs.

CBRE, in its Iberian Data Center Market report, calculates that the Iberian Peninsula has an executable potential of 4.5 GW IT in the medium term, compared with 10.5 GW IT announced. The firm attributes the gap to the fact that only around 40% of projects have identifiable institutional capital backing, and points to energy access and regulatory certainty as the keys to closing it.

Energy and grid, the factor that sets the timelines

PwC’s Global Data Centre report identifies transmission capacity, substation availability and transformer lead times as the sector’s main bottlenecks worldwide. According to PwC, operators able to secure electrical capacity ahead of their competitors will capture a disproportionate share of the growth.

In Spain, the study PwC prepared for Aelec on electricity planning notes that the 2025–2030 draft plan envisions serving 3.8 GW of data center demand from the transmission grid. The same study indicates that 54% of the grid positions analyzed are experiencing delays, with an average delay of 5.7 years.

Utilities and operators: a partnership of complementary interests

Given this scenario, collaboration between utilities and data center operators is gaining weight as a way of delivering projects. The division of roles is complementary: utilities bring what is scarcest (grid positions and access, grid-connected land and the ability to contract stable renewable supply), while operators bring demand, expertise in digital operations and relationships with end customers. For projects, these partnerships make it possible to secure power ahead of the competition, the advantage PwC highlights, and to offer investors greater assurance, which matters if only 40% of initiatives have identifiable institutional backing, according to CBRE. In addition, the regulatory requirement for hour-by-hour renewable coverage increases the appeal of agreements with generators able to combine production, storage and supply.

The regulatory debate in Spain

The draft Royal Decree, promoted by the Spanish government, seeks to ensure that new data center consumption is backed by new renewable generation. In its initial version, it required 80% of consumption to come from new renewable capacity and for that share to be met hour by hour.

EY’s analysis was based on that version. It simulated compliance with both requirements for the 3.5 GW of data centers envisioned in Spain’s national AI strategy. The result would be a fleet of 26.8 GW of solar, 8.8 GW of wind and 14.2 GW of batteries, with a supply cost of €133.07/MWh, 2.4 times the 2030 futures price. The firm estimates that between €53.6 billion and €60.3 billion of investment could be tied up, and proposes aligning the rule with European regulation.

But events have moved on again: on October 26, the government sent a revised version of the text to the Council of State. The new wording keeps the 80% requirement, but extends from 18 to 36 months the permitted age of certain renewable installations and adds more flexibility for storage and solar PV. It also introduces a transitional regime of up to five years to achieve full hourly matching, linked to automatic power-curtailment mechanisms.

With an unprecedented project pipeline and a grid that needs years to expand, the ability to coordinate energy, land and digital operations is emerging, according to the reports analyzed, as one of the factors that will determine how much of that investment is actually delivered in Spain.

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Written By: EIN Presswire