Administrative Authorizations.

A data center’s building permit also requires filing an environmental authorization. Building a hyperscale data center or AI campus (between 100 and 400 MW) involves a complex set of administrative and regulatory steps. The procedures vary according to country, region and site type, but in France (as an example) and in the European Union, there are a number of authorizations and legal compliances to be respected.

The building permit is supplemented by an environmental authorization requiring an impact study to take into account the effects on biodiversity, water resources, air quality and the overall carbon footprint of the project. The ICPE file includes, in addition to the impact study, a hazard study and the measures for preventing and reducing risks.

The electrical connection generally requires a building permit to be filed by the public transmission network operator, in parallel with the data center’s building permit. The size of a project also entails a public inquiry as well as consultation with local authorities; implementation timeframes may be extended as a result.

In the Île-de-France region, the location of data centers must fall within the orientations recommended by the regional master plan (SDRIF) and, more generally, be compatible with sustainable land-use policies, in particular:

• the “net zero land take” (ZAN) trajectory enshrined in law no. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 known as “climate and resilience”;
• the energy efficiency ambitions defined in the regional climate, air and energy plan (SRCAE) for Île-de-France adopted in December 2012;
• the multi-annual energy programme (PPE) 2019-2028 adopted on 21 April 2020;
• law no. 2021-1485 of 15 November 2021 aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of digital technology in France, which promotes less energy-intensive data centers and a responsible digital strategy in local areas (waste heat reuse, compliance with a power usage effectiveness indicator).