European Union: Energy Law

El Gobierno español ha declarado como instalaciones energéticas estratégicas los proyectos renovables adjudicatarios en nudos de transición justa, vinculados al cierre de centrales térmicas de carbón o nucleares. Esta calificación agiliza procedimientos administrativos y aplica el régimen de obras públicas de interés general, facilitando la reactivación económica de territorios afectados mientras se mantienen las garantías ambientales.

Legal and regulatory developments impacting sectors across the economy, including energy, construction and engineering, transport and digital infrastructure.

Spain has launched a €9 billion electricity capacity market following EU approval, introducing a centralised mechanism that procures firm capacity through sealed-bid auctions administered by Red Eléctrica de España. The framework prioritizes renewable generation, storage, and demand-side resources for new investments while imposing strict emission limits on existing generation facilities.

La Corte di Giustizia dell'Unione Europea ha stabilito che la Direttiva Bolkestein non si applica agli impianti di piccole derivazioni idroelettriche, poiché la produzione di energia elettrica costituisce un'attività di produzione di beni e non una prestazione di servizi. Questa sentenza chiarisce il quadro normativo applicabile alle concessioni di derivazione d'acqua e segna un importante cambio di rotta rispetto a precedenti interpretazioni dell'Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Merc

Grid congestion in the Netherlands is creating unprecedented challenges for commercial real estate landlords and tenants, raising critical questions about who bears responsibility when insufficient electricity capacity affects leased premises. This analysis examines how Dutch Energy Act provisions, landlord-tenant law, and recent court decisions intersect to determine liability for grid capacity shortfalls.

Spain's draft Royal Decree introduces stringent energy sustainability, environmental, resilience and digital sovereignty requirements for data centers, including renewable additionality, hourly correlation, and efficiency standards. The regulation applies to all access and connection permits obtained after entry into force, with specific compliance deadlines for projects in progress and those with granted permits not yet connected to the grid.

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The Irish Government has secured approval for revisions to the Heat (Networks and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, legislation designed to accelerate district heating adoption across Ireland. Research indicates that waste heat from data centres and pharmaceutical plants could meet approximately 80% of Dublin's heat demand by 2050, potentially heating over 1 million homes through renewable and waste heat sources.

France's Multiannual Energy Program (PPE 3) establishes a framework for 2026-2035, prioritizing wind farm repowering to boost renewable energy capacity. However, structural challenges including grid connection delays, rising costs, local acceptance issues, and political uncertainty continue to impact investor confidence. Can the balance between repowering existing wind farms and developing new greenfield projects successfully drive France's energy sovereignty and electrification goals?