Cinco de las principales organizaciones ambientales —Amigas de la Tierra, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, SEO/BirdLife y WWF— submitted objections to the draft royal decree on data centers in Spain. In their joint statement, they call on the Government for strict limits on water and energy consumption, territorial planning, and a fully renewable electricity supply.
The entities appreciate that the Executive is advancing in the regulation of a rapidly expanding sector, but warn that the current text does not offer sufficient guarantees to prevent environmental and social impacts, especially on water and energy resources in the context of a climate crisis.
Magnitude of Consumption
The report Energy and AI (2025) by the International Energy Agency, cited by the organizations, indicates that a 100 MW data center can consume as much electricity as 100,000 households in a year.
In Spain, the Meta project in Talavera de la Reina anticipates a capacity of 248 MW and a consumption of 504 million liters of water annually, including reserves for future equipment.
Consumption varies according to the size of the facilities, server load, and cooling systems, but environmentalists warn that technological improvements are not enough if the total volume of resources continues to grow.
Entities like Greenpeace warn about the need to regulate data centers to protect the environment.
Main Demands
The organizations propose:
- Maximum limits on water and energy consumption in each data center.
- Assessment of cumulative impacts of all facilities in a territory, not just individual projects.
- 100% renewable energy coverage, supported by storage and flexibility, without fossil fuels or nuclear energy.
- Territorial planning that considers pressure on electrical grids, economic activities, and biodiversity.
- Precautionary development, with strategic evaluations, human rights audits, and binding democratic consultations.
Social and Academic Support
Support for these demands includes platforms such as Tu nube seca mi río, No es sequía Es saqueo, Resistencias al Centro de Datos de Fuenlabrada and Aigua és Vida, in addition to academic and international collectives. All demand transparency, public participation, and accountability before authorizing an expansion that could condition the future availability of resources.
The debate on data centers reflects the tension between digital growth and environmental sustainability.
Environmental organizations insist that technological efficiency is not enough: it is necessary to establish clear limits and ensure that the digital transition does not worsen the water and energy crisis.