The Greek government has proposed new legislation that could require data centers to source at least 60 percent of their power from renewable sources.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy proposed the draft legislation, which also includes several other provisions seeking to set stricter requirements for data centers.

These include requiring data center investors to reserve grid capacity only when they can prove sufficient financial backing and investment readiness, and requiring them to cover grid connection and related grid reinforcement costs.

The rules would also render data centers subject to financial capacity checks, including turnover criteria for projects connecting to the transmission system. In addition, data centers seeking a connection would have to provide a €200,000 ($224,089) per MW bank guarantee to prevent speculative applications from entering the grid connection queue.

In addition, the draft legislation proposed that the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water (RAAEY) create a data center registry to track developments in the sector and improve transparency.

The draft legislation also includes the introduction of flexible grid connection agreements in locations with insufficient capacity, which will permit grid operators to limit the amount of power a facility can draw from the grid within set limits. In addition, the legislation proposes that transmission and distribution operators publish information every three months on available connection capacity by region.

Finally, the proposals set out the establishment of a €2.3 billion ($2.57bn) Island Decarbonization Fund to finance projects that would reduce reliance on oil-fired generation in favor of renewable energy and storage facilities.

The consultation will last until October 24, 2026.

The draft legislation follows Spain, which proposed new legislation in August that would require data centers to source at least 80 percent of their electricity consumption from new renewable generation on an hourly basis.

Greece is a relatively small data center market compared to the rest of Europe, but has seen significant expansion over recent years. According to Data Center Map, the country currently has 29 operational facilities across 19 operators. Digital Realty launched its first data center in the country in April of last year on the island of Crete.