- Do you have to enter into a form of agreement with the local authority/municipality when applying for consent for a data centre in your jurisdiction?
- What is the planning/consenting designation or use class which datacentres fit into in your jurisdiction?
- Does the applicant have to own all of the land for the datacentre to apply for the consent?
- What are the steps that need to be taken to secure data centre consent in your jurisdiction? How long does each steps in the process typically take?
- Do arrangements for access to utilities, energy and/or power need to be made to as part of the consenting process?
- Are there clear land plans or zones in place which automatically authorise data centres or is the application process more complicated in your jurisdiction?
- What are the environmental considerations that need to be taken when obtaining data centre consent?
- Is biodiversity an important consideration when it comes to data centre consenting in your jurisdiction?
jurisdiction
1. Do you have to enter into a form of agreement with the local authority/municipality when applying for consent for a data centre in your jurisdiction?
In Slovenia there are no specific requirements to enter into any agreement with the local authority/municipality when applying for decisions regarding a data centre investment (please note, that in the Slovenian jurisdiction there is no one universal data centre consent, but the investment is subject to a standard development process, requiring obtainment of construction decisions, which is the same as for other asset classes).
In certain cases, the municipality may require the conclusion of an agreement on utility equipping which is an agreement between the applicant and municipality obliging the applicant to build utility infrastructure related to the real estate on which the building will be built. However, this is not specific for data centres but also for other development projects.
2. What is the planning/consenting designation or use class which datacentres fit into in your jurisdiction?
In Slovenia datacentres are quite a new class of development and are not specifically regulated in the respective acts.
In practice, data centres are most often located in service or industrial areas designated by each individual municipal zoning plan.
3. Does the applicant have to own all of the land for the datacentre to apply for the consent?
No special consent for datacentres is required. Permits and consents regarding construction are required as per other development projects. I.e., to apply for the issuance of a building permit, the applicant has to have a legal title or be a holder of another right in rem that entitles them to build on foreign land.
4. What are the steps that need to be taken to secure data centre consent in your jurisdiction? How long does each steps in the process typically take?
The main steps are:
- Obtainment of relevant opinions
Before applying for a building permit, the investor must obtain the opinions of the competent opinion-givers, such as opinions on the impact of the development on the water regime and water status, etc. such opinions must be included in the application for the building permit. - Obtainment of the building permit
The time limit for issuing a decision on an application for a building permit is two months from the date of submission of a complete application (in case the coordination with the issuers of required opinions the time limit is three months). In practice the duration of the whole process depends on the workload of the local authority, the quality of the submission documents and whether objections are raised. The process to obtain the building permit can last a few months up to more than one year. - Obtainment of the operating permit
Once construction is complete, the operating permit must be obtained. The investor must apply for the operating permit no later than 30 days after receiving notification from the contractor or supervisor that the construction has been completed. The operating permit must be issued within 15 days of the submission of a complete application
5. Do arrangements for access to utilities, energy and/or power need to be made to as part of the consenting process?
If there is no utility infrastructure on the real estate on which the building intends to be built, an equipping agreement must be concluded prior obtaining a building permit.
6. Are there clear land plans or zones in place which automatically authorise data centres or is the application process more complicated in your jurisdiction?
As mentioned above, data centres as a new class of assets are not explicitly mentioned and regulated by Slovenian Law. Therefore, currently there are no clear land plans or zones in place which automatically authorise data centres.
In such event, development of data centres require the steps described in general in point 4 above, as any other development project.
7. What are the environmental considerations that need to be taken when obtaining data centre consent?
There are no specific regulations regarding environmental considerations with respect to data centres in Slovenia. Thus, environmental considerations as per any other development project exist.
Before any development which may have significant effects on the environment and which involves construction for which a building permit is required, an environmental impact assessment and an assessment of the acceptability of the development in relation to protected areas must be carried out in the context of the issue of an integrated building permit, insofar as the development also involves development in protected areas at the same time.
8. Is biodiversity an important consideration when it comes to data centre consenting in your jurisdiction?
There are no biodiversity requirements specifically for data centre developments. Nevertheless, general planning conditions may include some biodiversity requirements, if located in regions where biodiversity is relevant.
