TITLE III / Chapter I – Data centre acceleration zones (Art. 10-13)
Art. 10 Cloud and AI Development Act - Designation of data centre acceleration zones
- Where data centre capacity is being deployed within the territory of a Member State, that Member State shall designate at least one data centre acceleration zone (‘acceleration zone’) within its territory by [P.O. insert the date of entry into force of this Regulation plus 6 months]. Member States shall consider the following aspects when designating acceleration zones:
- the location and dimension of the site or area, and the minimum and maximum size of the facilities that could be built on that site or area;
- the available and future power grid capacity and the possibility and conditions for on-site storage and clean energy generation;
- the available and future network connectivity capacity;
- the capacity of the zone to support the phasing out of legacy copper networks;
- the available and future facilities that can reuse data centre waste heat;
- all the measures taken to accelerate the granting of the necessary permits for constructing and operating data centres within the given zone;
- the preference for reusing brownfield sites over using greenfield sites;
- the ability of the site or area to function sustainably, particularly as regards preventing or minimising environmental impacts and supporting the reduction of carbon emissions and its climate resilience.
- Member States, where appropriate to facilitate the development of acceleration zones, shall:
- conduct, and review at least every three years, a comprehensive analysis of the energy needs and their respective impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, of current and future acceleration zones and identify the required energy infrastructure capacity for the proper functioning and development of data centre projects located in the acceleration zones. Such analysis shall be conducted, at least, when designating the acceleration zones pursuant to paragraph 1;
- ensure that the network development plans prepared by transmission system operators pursuant to Article 51 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council and distribution system operators pursuant to Article 32 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 take due account of the analysis prepared pursuant to point (a) of this paragraph, considering the potential of anticipatory investments to accommodate future system needs.
- National, regional and local authorities responsible for preparing spatial and development plans shall consider including, in those plans, provisions for the development of data centre projects deployed in acceleration zones, and of the necessary infrastructure. Member States shall ensure that all relevant spatial planning data are available to data centre operators. Where those plans are subject to an assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where applicable, the combined assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies referred to in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
- When designating acceleration zones, Member States shall ensure the involvement of and coordination among all relevant national, regional and local authorities and entities, including operators as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council, transmission system operators as defined in Article 2, point (35), of Directive (EU) 2019/944 and distribution system operators as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2019/944.
