Iberia’s data centre capacity is set to nearly double its share of Europe’s by 2030
Spain and Portugal are attracting data centre developers with abundant renewable power, but grid limits and the need for reliable 24-hour supply are driving investment in batteries and hybrid energy projects. Rystad Energy forecasts the Iberian Peninsula will account for 11.5% of Europe’s installed data centre capacity by 2030, up from 5.8% in 2025.
Bottom line — Spain’s €17 billion grid investment is planned through 2030, but new transmission infrastructure will take years to arrive.
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Rystad Energy forecasts Spain’s data centre capacity will reach 3.9 GW by 2030, four times its current level; Portugal is forecast to pass 1 GW.
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Reuters reports that roughly 70% of Spain’s transmission nodes have no available capacity, with little headroom around Madrid, Aragon and Navarra.
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Rystad Energy analyst Odin Foldvik Eikeland says Murcia, Andalucia and Castilla y Leon could offer better grid access for Spanish projects.
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Spain generated 56% of its electricity from renewables in 2025, while Portugal exceeded 80%, according to European Commission data cited by Reuters.
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Reuters reports that Merlin Properties signed a 40-year solar power purchase agreement with Solaria for 426 MW, plus a 10-year contract for 600 MWh of battery storage.
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Portugal has 36 operational data centres and 10 more in construction or planning, according to consultancy Synertics; Lisbon has nearly 1.4 GW planned against 25 MW of operational IT capacity.
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Start Campus’s planned 1.2 GW SINES campus is scheduled for completion in 2030. Reuters reports its first module has operated since early 2025, and a 200 MW second module is due in 2027.
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Reuters identifies high temperatures and scarce water as additional constraints for Iberian data centres, which can face higher cooling costs than facilities in northern Europe.