Madrid, May 27, 2026 – Leading figures from Spain’s data center ecosystem gathered this week at the Club Financiero Génova in Madrid for a luncheon and discussion that served as a prelude to Data Centre World Madrid 2026, the industry’s leading event, which will take place on November 4 and 5 at IFEMA Madrid as part of Tech Show Madrid.

The roundtable brought together high-level institutional representatives—Manuel Pérez Gómez, Deputy Minister for Digitalization of the Community of Madrid; Emilio Díaz, President of Spain DC; and Begoña Villacís, Executive Director of Spain DC—as well as leaders from the data center sector.

The context could not be more telling: Spain’s data center sector is booming. According to data from Spain DC, the country is projected to see a total investment of 66.9 billion euros through 2030, with 25 billion euros allocated to construction and installation alone for the 2026–2030 period. Installed capacity, which currently stands at 439 MW, is expected to increase sixfold in just five years, reaching 2,537 MW by 2030, with a sustained annual growth rate of 24%. The sector already contributes 7.3 billion euros to annual GDP and employs more than 16,000 people nationwide.

Against this backdrop, the discussion centered on three questions that highlight the sector’s current structural tensions.

 

Can the growth of AI be sustained at the current pace from an energy perspective?

The first issue raised was the most pressing one: whether the energy demand generated by advances in artificial intelligence is compatible with the current capacity of the power grid and with sustainability goals.

Begoña Villacís, executive director of Spain DC, noted that the answer depends on each country’s specific context. In the case of Spain, she argued that there is an opportunity linked to the availability of renewable energy and the need to increase energy consumption in a country where, as she pointed out, demand has fallen over the past decade as a result of deindustrialization.

“We’re wasting energy—which is essentially our gold—because we’re unable to use it,”he said. In this regard, he linked the growth of data centers to the potential for utilizing some of that renewable energy, noting that this sector can help generate the demand that renewables need to be profitable.

In this regard, Jordi Garcia, VP of Secure Power & Services for the Iberian Zone at Schneider Electric, identified the regulatory framework as the main challenge. When asked whether there is enough energy to support the growth of AI, he replied that there is, but with one condition: that there be an environment that allows access to the power needed to deploy the data centers required by the economy.“We need clear regulations that give us confidence in terms of investment,”he noted.

Garcia also argued that the technology already exists to develop sustainable, efficient, resilient, and flexible data centers. The remaining hurdle, he noted, lies in regulatory and legal frameworks. As he explained, in other European countries, access to power is beginning to be linked to flexibility; although IT room consumption is non-negotiable and must be maintained at 100%, there may be some leeway to offer flexibility to the grid from other areas of the data center.

 

Who is really bearing the brunt of this growth?

The second part of the discussion addressed how the costs of growth are being distributed within the sector, and who—operators, customers, government agencies, or citizens—is bearing the brunt of an expansion that benefits everyone.

Emilio Díaz, president of Spain DC, argued that the impact is spread across various stakeholders. As he explained, although energy costs and rising expenses clearly play a significant role, the rates currently being negotiated are trending downward, meaning that operators are also absorbing part of that increase.

“I think the burden is shared by everyone, although it’s true that the end customer is the one who has to bear it. But I think we all have a little bit to do with this,” he said.

Begoña Villacís expanded the discussion to include the responsiveness of public administrations. In her view, the impact of growth is not limited to the distribution of costs within the sector; it also highlights the mismatch between the pace of private enterprise and that of public structures.

“The government and public policies are not prepared for the impact of this growth,” he said. In his remarks, he noted that “the law always lags behind society” and argued that private enterprise and civil society are advancing at a pace that the government cannot always keep up with.

During the discussion, it was also noted that time to market ultimately affects both manufacturers and operators, especially in an industry where energy supply, permitting, and deployment timelines directly determine the viability of projects.

 

How is the local landscape influencing the development of new data centers?

The third focus of the discussion explored the territorial dimension of digital growth: competition among regions to attract investment, urban and environmental implications, and the role played by local and regional governments in defining a balanced development model.

At this point, the involvement of Madrid’s institutional representatives proved particularly significant. Madrid—with its commitment to AI, blockchain, and cybersecurity through the Deputy Ministry of Digitalization, and its aspiration to become a European technology hub, driven by the City Council—is one of the regions where this tension is felt most acutely.

Begoña Villacís argued that the physical infrastructure plays a decisive role in the development of new data centers. As she explained, for years the focus has been on software or intellectual property, but current growth has revealed that the main bottlenecks lie in the physical infrastructure.

“Physical factors will determine everything,” he said. In his remarks, he linked the concept of “territory” not only to available land but also to energy, noting that when discussing territory for data centers, it is assumed that such territory must have sufficient energy capacity.

Emilio Díaz agreed on the importance of the region and cited the case of Aragón as an example. As he explained, the region is doing an outstanding job, not so much by offering shorter lead times, but by providing predictability.

“In Aragón, there are five-year deadlines, and nothing happens—it’s predictable,” he noted. For Díaz, that clarity is essential for investments of this magnitude, as it allows one to know from the outset whether a project is viable, whether it will have access to energy, or whether it will need to be rethought.

In his remarks, he also noted that Aragón could gain an edge over Madrid in the coming years precisely because it has provided that predictability in terms of timelines. He also cited France as an example of a region that, in his view, is doing this well.

Villacís concluded his remarks by linking the development of data centers to issues of industry and sovereignty. He noted that Spain has favorable conditions, such as renewable energy, connectivity via undersea cables, fiber optics, available land, and the ability to attract talent, but argued that the country must decide whether to commit to this industry as one of the most important sectors for the coming decades.

 

A strategic sector that requires dialogue at the appropriate level

The insights shared during this luncheon-discussion will inform the content of Data Centre World Madrid 2026, which is already 90% booked and facing unprecedented demand. As made clear during the event at the Génova, the sector is not merely growing. It is engaging in debate, setting high standards, and seeking partners who can match its strategic importance.

 

Data Centre World Madrid 2026: Where Discussion Turns into Action

These discussions will continue on November 4 and 5 at IFEMA Madrid. Data Centre World Madrid will hold its 2026 edition as part of Tech Show Madrid, the leading technology event for businesses in Spain, which is expected to attract more than 29,000 visitors, over 500 exhibitors, and more than 450 speakers.

All of this takes place as part of Madrid Tech Week, the leading technology event in Spain and Europe, with an estimated economic impact of over 110 million euros for the city and the participation of professionals from more than 60 countries.