Investments in the grid required
Spain may already be close to hitting a ceiling for new data center capacity if new investments into the grid are made soon.
Some 83.4 percent of the country's electricity distribution network nodes are already saturated, preventing new connection requests to the network being met, according to data published on September 9 by the Association of Electricity Companies (Aelec) and UFD.
The saturation comes amid accelerated growth of new access requests driven by data centers, electric mobility, and industry that have not been accompanied by investments or adequate criteria to reinforce the infrastructure.
In 2024, companies in the sector requested 19.28GW of capacity for new electricity connection projects, of which less than half were accepted or are in the pipeline, Cinco Días reported. The rest of the requests were rejected due to a lack of grid availability.
Data published by Aelec on Tuesday also shows that available grid capacity is concentrated in areas where demand is low.
Madrid, one of the favorite destinations for the construction of new data centers in the country, has become the epicenter of grid connection stagnation, according to another Cinco Días report.
Data center capacity in the region remained frozen at 792MW with no growth in six months, while other areas such as Barcelona and Aragon advanced 38 percent and 24 percent, respectively, thanks to a higher margin network.
To solve this bottleneck, Aelec advocates a new remuneration model and agile planning that will allow for rapid digitization and expansion of infrastructure.
"We need a remuneration model and a remuneration of investments consistent with the needs of the network and an agile planning that allows [us] to reinforce those access points to the network where demand requires it," said Aelec.
This piece was automatically translated from DCD's Spanish site and edited by a member of DCD's editorial staff.
Source: DCD
