Lombardy plans to revise data-centre law after surge in applications

what happened

Only four months after adopting rules to manage a rapid rise in data-centre demand, the region around Milan is getting ready to make them stricter. Lombardy, Italy's largest region by population, is responding to mounting public unease about how quickly and how widely new facilities are being planned, Reuters reports.

Amendments to the law passed in June are scheduled to go before the regional government on October 19, and the regional council could approve them in roughly a month, regional councillor Massimo Sertori told Reuters. He said the aim is to limit the use of farmland and steer projects toward abandoned industrial sites, using water-saving technology. He also wants data centres to run on renewable power.

Under current rules, brownfield locations already get priority, while farmland and undeveloped greenfield sites face construction charges 100% higher, and projects in parks or sensitive areas face fees 200% higher. Lombardy has received more than 60 applications since the law took effect, with a combined proposed capacity of about 11 GW. Regional estimates put that load at around 90 TWh a year, against current annual demand of roughly 65 TWh.

For comparison, recent industry estimates expect Italy to add about 2.5-3 GW of data-centre capacity by 2030, with Lombardy taking 1.5-2 GW over the next five years. Sertori said the current pace is not sustainable. Opposition has grown, including an October 3 protest by residents of Rho, near Milan, against plans for three data centres on roughly 3 square kilometres.

why it matters

For power markets, the scale of requests matters: about 11 GW against annual regional demand of around 65 TWh. It suggests that where and how quickly new load appears in Lombardy could depend as much on regional planning rules as on grid capacity. Developers and utilities will be watching how the revised law turns out.

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