Spain relaxes initial proposal for data-center rules 

MADRID, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Spain ‌on Monday ​unveiled ​a more flexible version of its proposed decree governing data centers after a wave of ‌project announcements in the country, according to officials at ⁠the energy ministry.

• The revised proposal raises the threshold for the ‌rules to apply, extends ‌the time frame for developers to demonstrate renewable-energy commitments and introduces a transition period for meeting clean-power targets.

• ​The initial proposal said that rules would apply to facilities with more than 1 megawatt of power capacity. ⁠That threshold has now been increased to more than 10 MW.

• Originally, every ​new megawatt of energy used had to be matched by a new megawatt of renewable energy ​installed in the 18 months ‌before the facility starts operation. Now, the time frame has been extended to 36 months before ⁠the start of operation, and there is no time limit for solar energy.

• The latest proposal maintains that renewable energy would ⁠have to cover at least 80% of data centers' energy supply ​for every hour of operation. The new proposal offers an alternative: a transition period of up to five years to reach that threshold ‌under several conditions.

• With abundant renewable energy and large swaths of empty land, Spain has ‌emerged as one of the hottest hubs in Europe, ⁠attracting projects tied to ‌artificial intelligence infrastructure worth ​tens of billions of euros.

(Reporting by Joan Faus and Pietro Lombardi in Madrid; Editing by Matthew ‌Lewis)

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