The deployment of data centres in Catalonia and across Spain has accelerated exponentially. The need to process data locally —both for Artificial Intelligence and for cloud services— has turned our territory into a strategic node in southern Europe. This growth is not circumstantial, but rather responds to a deep change in the way companies, public administrations and citizens generate and consume information.
However, this boom has arrived at a moment of maximum territorial sensitivity. Water stress, energy volatility and sustainability expectations place these projects under unprecedented scrutiny. A data centre, today, is only viable if it is able to integrate with the territory and not compete for scarce resources with the population and traditional industry.
A data centre is not just a building full of servers; it is an infrastructure that must practise, from the very first minute, territorial symbiosis.
Location, energy and digital sovereignty
Choosing the location of a data centre no longer depends solely on fibre optics or proximity to large customers. The indispensable condition is energy availability and the capacity to integrate renewable sources without straining the local grid.
That is why developers should design what are known as Energy Campuses, a new generation of infrastructure that:
- Hybridise photovoltaics and consumption using roofs and adjacent spaces to generate part of the baseline consumption.
- Integrate intelligently with the grid, incorporating storage systems that make consumption flexible and can even provide support at times of saturation.
- Contribute to digital sovereignty: reducing external dependencies strengthens the competitiveness of the territory.
This approach goes far beyond choosing a plot, it means planning the territory with digital, energy and climate criteria.
Water, the real shield against drought
Water is probably the most sensitive issue in the debate on data centres. A medium-sized data centre can consume the same volume as a city of 15,000 inhabitants if it uses traditional cooling systems.
That is why any project seeking the approval of public administrations and of society must have a clear commitment, Zero Water Impact.
In this respect, data centres must be designed so as not to depend on drinking water for cooling, and they should use:
- Dry-cooling systems and closed circuits, which prioritise air cooling for most of the year.
- Use of reclaimed water, connecting the centre with nearby wastewater treatment plants and turning a waste stream into a strategic resource. Plan for the reuse of reclaimed water in Catalonia
- ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) systems that allow water to be reused internally indefinitely.
This water-energy shield is no longer a bonus, it is a precondition. reclaimed water in Catalonia
Thermal symbiosis
A data centre generates a constant amount of heat at between 30 and 40 °C. Until recently, this energy was dissipated into the atmosphere with little use. Lately, however, the view has changed and waste heat is a valuable resource in a real circular economy.
It is therefore necessary to promote thermal symbiosis, integrating data centres into local ecosystems:
- Heat networks to warm swimming pools, public facilities and homes.
- Support for the agri-food industry with heat for greenhouses and drying processes.
In this way, the data centre stops being perceived as an intensive consumer of resources and becomes a useful player.
ESG and governance
Deploying a data centre requires navigating increasingly strict environmental, climate and land-use regulations. ESG criteria are auditable and binding. Companies wishing to set up in Catalonia have to demonstrate extreme efficiency in:
- PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness)
- WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness)
- Energy traceability and use of renewables
- Climate risk assessment (CSRD / ESRS)
- Compliance with the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and European digital sustainability Digital Product Passport
At auma we support developers from conceptual engineering through to legalisation, ensuring that projects meet these new standards and speak the language that regulators and investors demand.
Conclusion:
Success in deploying data centres in our territory will not be determined by the size of the investment, but by the intelligence of its integration. Digital sovereignty is only possible if it is built on a solid base, that is, water responsibility, energy efficiency, transparent governance and return to the territory.
Data centres are the invisible infrastructure that underpins digitalisation and AI. But for them to be accepted and sustainable, they need to be, first and foremost, good neighbours.