Italy Passes New Data Center Regulations

Competent authority

The authorities responsible for the Single Authorization process are those already entrusted with the issuance of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permit, namely:

• the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security for large plants (i.e., data centers with a total thermal capacity of at least 300 MW); and
• regional authorities for smaller plants (i.e., data centers with a total thermal capacity between 50 MW and 300 MW) or more.

The Single Authorization is, in either case, issued as a result of joint meetings where all the public authorities involved (including environmental, landscape and heritage, and health authorities) examine the project together (known as the Conferenza di Servizi).

Single Authorization process

The Single Authorization replaces all the authorizations, licenses, opinions, and nihil-obstat required on a stand-alone basis, including the IPPC permit, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), landscape or cultural heritage authorization, water abstraction, and air emission authorizations. As such, the applicant shall submit all documentation required to obtain the said authorizations, licenses, opinions, and nihil-obstat.

If the project is required to perform an EIA (i.e., data centers with a total thermal capacity over 150 MW), the application shall also include the “public notice” (avviso al pubblico), which is intended to present the key elements of the project and enable any interested party to submit observations to the competent authority, in line with the transparency principle under Italian law.

Timeline

The Single Authorization process shall be completed within 10 months of receipt of the complete application. An extension of up to three months may be provided only in exceptional circumstances relating to the project’s nature, complexity, or location. Furthermore, the EIA previously applicable timelines are halved.

This procedure also applies to projects subject to EIA screening (verifica di assoggettabilità), rather than a full EIA, due to their lower expected environmental impact, such as data centers with a total thermal capacity between 50 MW and 150 MW. If, upon completion of the EIA screening, it is determined that a full EIA is required, the applicant can continue the Single Authorization process by submitting the EIA application within 90 days of that determination.

Strategic projects

Under Article 13 of Law Decree No. 104/2023, the Italian government may, upon proposal by the Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, designate a specific project as being of “preeminent national strategic interest,” provided that it involves direct investments exceeding €1 billion.

All administrative acts required to implement such strategic investments are issued through a unified procedure that results in a single decision consolidating all required permits and approvals. This single decision also amends the relevant urban planning instruments and replaces all opinions, clearances, and additional authorizations (including environmental, health and safety, and fire prevention permits) required to ensure the program’s urban planning, landscape, and environmental compliance.

Data center projects classified as having preeminent national strategic interest continue to be governed by the special procedure provided for by Article 13 of Law Decree No. 104/2023.

Grid connection for already-authorized data centers

For data center projects that secured all required permits and authorizations (including those under applicable environmental laws) prior to the entry into force of LD 21/26 and that require an authorization for grid‑connection works at voltages exceeding 220 kV, the competent authorizing authority is the regional authority where the project is located.

For projects with work extending across multiple regions, the competent authority is based on where the largest portion of the work will be carried out.