Written by: Islam El-Saqqa
A proposed project to establish a massive data center in the Monfarracinos area of Spain's Zamora province has sparked a wave of widespread warnings regarding its anticipated impact on local supply networks and energy capacities, amid official demands for decisive answers regarding the project's energy feasibility before proceeding with its licensing procedures.
Exceeding the province's electricity consumption
The People's Union of León party confirmed that the hyperscale data center scheduled to be built in the Zamora Norte industrial area will consume massive amounts of electricity, reaching about 3.2 times the total consumption of the entire province. According to data and information analyzed within parliamentary questions registered in the Parliament of Castile and León, the project will require about 2,255 gigawatt-hours annually, compared to about 700 gigawatt-hours consumed by the entire Zamora province in a full year.
The party pointed out that the facilities and installations associated with the data center will only cover about 70 percent of its needs, while the remaining 30 percent will be obtained from external sources, which is equivalent to about 676 gigawatt-hours. These figures open the door to serious questions about the current infrastructure's ability to withstand this pressure, and whether this will affect the capacities available for other industrial, commercial, and energy projects in the region.
Heavy reliance on natural gas and environmental emissions
The documents of the planned project included plans to operate a thermal power plant comprising 24 natural gas-fired combustion engines, five diesel units, and 24 chimneys with a height of 30 meters. Estimates indicate that the complex's natural gas consumption will reach 141.5 million cubic meters annually, equivalent to about 2.5 times the 57.5 million cubic meters consumed by the entire Zamora province in the comparison period.
This consumption will result in massive annual carbon dioxide emissions estimated at about 307,175 tons. The concerned authorities stressed the need for official administrative bodies to clarify the project's real energy model, the extent of reliance on various energy sources, the operating period of those engines, and the environmental precautions required to avoid any future energy crises in the region.
