Portugal wants to require new data centers to use renewable electricity

The Portuguese government is drafting a decree-law that would require new data centers to use renewable electricity. Maria da Graça Carvalho, Minister of the Environment and Energy, outlined the proposal to journalists on November 2, 2026, the Lusa news agency reports. She confirmed to Jornal Económico that developers would remain free to generate their own electricity.

A developer could therefore choose a site without solar panels or wind turbines and buy renewable electricity from a supplier, provided the site could be connected to the grid. Portugal’s energy regulator distinguishes between selling electricity and delivering it. The supplier sells power to the center. The producer feeds electricity into a grid shared with other producers, and the center draws power at its connection point.

On-site generation was debated at the minister’s hearing on the 2027 budget, scheduled for 9 a.m. on November 3 in Parliament. Jorge Pinto, a member of Parliament for the Livre party, wants each center to generate all the electricity it uses from renewable sources. The minister maintained that on-site generation should remain optional, Jornal PT Green reports.

Grid connection and water availability would influence site selection

On November 2, Maria da Graça Carvalho told Jornal Económico that developers would have to contribute to the cost of connecting their sites to the grid. The next day in Parliament, she mentioned a financial guarantee and an investment by the developer to cover those costs, according to Jornal PT Green. It remains unclear which works the developer could be charged for and how its share would be calculated, particularly if the grid needs upgrading beyond the site.

On November 2, the minister explained that water would have to be available on site if the server cooling system uses it. She also mentioned the need for a favorable environmental impact statement, Lusa reports. The next day, she clarified that the developer could choose a cooling system that uses no water. If the developer uses water, its project would have to be compatible with residents’ water supply and the needs of other sectors, Jornal PT Green reports.

Where the drinking water utility and farmers draw from the same source, the developer would therefore need to take into account the water needed both by residents and for irrigation. The minister did not specify how much water could be drawn. How water availability would be assessed at each site has yet to be specified.

The 500 kW threshold applies to consumption reporting

Decree-Law No. 84/2024 of November 4, 2024, already requires data center owners and managers to publish metrics once the installed power capacity of their IT equipment reaches 500 kW. They have until May 15 each year to publish on their websites the previous calendar year’s figures, including energy and water consumption and the use of renewable energy. The decree-law protects confidential information and trade secrets. Its exemptions include centers used for defense, internal security and civil protection.

For the proposed requirement to use renewable electricity, the minister announced neither a power threshold nor a minimum share of consumption that renewables would have to cover. For operators buying electricity, it remains unclear which types of contracts and supporting documents would be accepted as proof of its origin.

Resolution No. 70/2026, published on April 13, 2026, made the national data center plan and its 2026–2027 action plan public. Portugal seeks to attract and coordinate investment in computing infrastructure, including for artificial intelligence and cloud computing services. Annex II specifies that the action plan does not set the framework for approving projects.

Maria da Graça Carvalho told Jornal Económico that she intended to finalize the draft decree-law and submit it to the Council of Ministers by the end of 2026. The government has announced neither a publication date nor a date for it to take effect.