Meta secures final approval for €1 billion data centre in Talavera de la Reina

Meta has received the definitive urban re-parcelling approval from the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, marking the successful conclusion of a lengthy administrative process. David Gómez, the regional delegate for the Junta de Comunidades in Talavera de la Reina, confirmed that the company can now submit its construction plans and apply for building permits from the local council. The project, initially proposed in 2019 and granted Special Singular Interest status in 2020, has faced repeated delays over the past five years.

The data centre will occupy 191 hectares of land and represents an investment of €1 billion, entirely funded by Meta without public financing. Once operational, it is expected to create 250 permanent direct jobs and up to 780 additional positions annually through supply chain activities. The facility will use dry-air cooling systems to minimise water consumption, with an estimated annual requirement of just 0.2 hectometres cubic of water—significantly lower than other industrial operations in the Torrehierro area. Meta must also deposit a €1,089,554 bond to guarantee proper land use within nine days, following four years of regulatory procedures.

As part of the project, Meta plans to restore the Zarzueleja and Cervines streams to develop a 60-hectare riverside park adjacent to the Gamonal district. The company has reduced its water usage projections multiple times since initial estimates in 2023, when early technical documents suggested a potential annual consumption of up to 4.8 billion litres. After environmental assessments, this figure was revised downward to 665.4 million litres, then to just over 500 million cubic metres in 2025, and now stands at 200 million litres per year—six times lower than the original estimate.

The project’s timeline includes four construction phases, with completion expected by 2036. Meta originally planned the facility under the codename "Operation Tulip" for Zeewolde in the Netherlands, but local opposition led the company to relocate the project to Spain in 2022. That same year, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha declared the initiative of Regional Interest, and in 2023, the state-owned land agency SEPES sold Meta 190 hectares in the Torrehierro industrial zone for €20.6 million. The final re-parcelling agreement, finalised this week, redistributes 53 plots and allocates two hectares to Gamonal, a nearby village of about 1,000 residents located 400 metres from the site.

The Spanish government is preparing stricter regulations for data centres, including requirements that they operate within the European Union, keep data within EU borders, and source at least 80% of their hourly energy consumption from renewables. Projects not yet connected to the grid, such as Meta’s in Talavera, will have only six months to comply or risk losing access to the electricity supply. Concerns remain about water availability in the Tajo basin, which already faces chronic shortages. Ecologistas en Acción warns that the Alberche River, the Tajo’s main tributary in the region, requires 6.3 hectometres cubic annually to meet local drinking water needs and is already classified as "deficit" and "highly stressed."

Reported by Xataka.