Judicial Review

Norway’s Data Centre Expansion: Power, Planning and Permit Challenge Risk

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Norway’s abundant renewable electricity, cool climate and political stability have made it an increasingly attractive location for data centre investment.

The latest development is Microsoft’s acquisition of a site at Kvål in Sandnes, part of the Stavanger region, for a proposed 25 MW data centre. The project was announced on 30 June 2026 and is intended to complement Microsoft’s existing Norway East cloud region. The 64-acre site was reportedly acquired for NOK 153.6 million and is already zoned for industrial use.

At first sight, the development appears to demonstrate many of the characteristics investors seek: an established technology operator, a supportive municipality, suitable land and access to Norway’s predominantly renewable electricity system.

However, it also illustrates a wider issue emerging across the Nordic data centre market. Securing land and planning support is only part of the delivery challenge. Access to power, compliance with a developing regulatory framework and the ability to withstand political or legal scrutiny are becoming equally important.

Portugal’s Green Map: Can Renewable Acceleration Areas Deliver Greater Permitting Certainty?

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Portugal has taken an important step towards reshaping the way renewable energy projects are planned and permitted.

On 17 June 2026, the Government opened a public consultation on its proposed “Green Map”, identifying areas considered particularly suitable for new wind and solar development. The proposal includes 1,302 priority areas, comprising 792 areas for solar projects and 510 for wind.

The selected areas are located within 10 kilometres of existing grid connections and have been mapped with the aim of avoiding significant environmental and licensing constraints.

For developers and investors, the attraction is clear. Greater visibility over suitable land, grid proximity and environmental constraints could reduce early-stage uncertainty and shorten the route to consent.

However, acceleration areas do not eliminate legal risk. They change where that risk arises.

Germany’s Planning Reforms: Faster Real Estate Development, New Legal Uncertainty

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Germany’s real estate market entered 2026 with tentative signs of recovery.

After three consecutive annual declines, permits were issued for approximately 238,500 residential units in 2025, an increase of 10.8% compared with 2024. The improvement suggests that the market may be beginning to respond to stabilising conditions, public support and efforts to reduce regulatory barriers.

However, Germany remains well below the level of development required to address its housing shortage. Against this background, the Federal Government is pursuing reforms intended to accelerate, simplify and digitalise the planning system.

The reforms present a significant opportunity for developers and investors. They also raise an important question: does a faster planning system necessarily introduce more legally secure development?

Renewable Energy and the 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy

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The global energy transition has reached an important stage. Renewable energy is no longer simply supplementing conventional generation. It is becoming the principal source of growth in the world’s energy system.

The Energy Institute’s 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy records that global energy demand exceeded 600 exajoules for the first time in 2025. Renewables made the largest contribution to the increase in total energy supply, the first time this has occurred outside a period of economic recession. Solar accounted for approximately 71% of that renewable growth.

These figures demonstrate the scale of investment flowing into new generation. They also point towards the next major challenge for governments, developers and their legal advisers: delivering the networks, connections, storage and planning approvals required to turn installed capacity into reliable electricity.

Legal Challenges and Ireland’s Data Centre Growth: Delivery Risk in a Power-Constrained Market

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Ireland has become one of Europe’s most important data centre markets. Its attractiveness is clear: a strong technology ecosystem, access to transatlantic connectivity, a favourable business environment and a concentration of major global technology companies.

But Ireland’s data centre success is now facing a familiar infrastructure problem: demand is moving faster than the legal, planning and energy systems required to support it.

Recent legal challenges to Ireland’s data centre policy underline the issue. Environmental groups have challenged the regulatory framework for connecting large energy users to the grid, arguing that rules allowing new data centres to rely on fossil-fuel generation conflict with climate obligations. The Irish High Court has granted leave for such a challenge to proceed.

For developers, investors, lenders and their legal advisers, this is not simply an Irish data centre story. It is a case study in how government policy, climate law, grid capacity and judicial review risk can collide.

When Community Opposition Becomes a Brake on London’s Progress

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London has always evolved through tension.

Every major change to the capital, from new housing and transport infrastructure to hospitality, cultural venues and mixed-use regeneration, sits at the intersection of competing interests. Residents want amenity, safety and a sense of place. Businesses need certainty, footfall and operating flexibility. Developers require planning confidence, investable timelines and a regulatory environment that supports delivery.

That balance is not easy. Nor should it be. Local engagement is a vital part of the planning and licensing system. Communities must have a voice where development affects noise, light, heritage, public realm, safety and quality of life.

But recent debate around Soho highlights a more difficult question for London: what happens when local opposition moves from scrutiny to obstruction?

New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission: High Court reinforces the high bar for procurement challenges

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The High Court’s decision in New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC) provides an important reminder of the evidential and legal burden facing claimants in complex procurement disputes.
The case arose from the award of the fourth UK National Lottery Licence to Allwyn. The incumbent operator’s bid vehicle, New Lottery Company, challenged the procurement process, including the evaluation and scoring of bids, as well as subsequent modifications made to the licence after award. Damages of up to £1.3 billion were reportedly sought.
The Court dismissed the claims in their entirety.
For lawyers, public bodies, developers, investors and other stakeholders involved in regulated procurement processes, the judgment is significant. It reinforces the Court’s reluctance to interfere with complex procurement evaluations unless there is a clear legal basis to do so. It also highlights the commercial impact that procurement challenges can have, even where they ultimately fail.

Spain’s Energy Transition: Progress, Pressure and System Risk

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Spain has emerged as one of Europe’s leading renewable energy markets. Rapid deployment of solar and wind generation, combined with reduced exposure to imported gas, has positioned the country as a central case study in the European energy transition.

For policymakers, investors and infrastructure participants, Spain has increasingly been viewed as evidence that decarbonisation and energy security can be pursued simultaneously. Lower wholesale electricity prices, significant renewable capacity growth and continued policy support have reinforced that narrative.

However, the nationwide blackout on 28 April 2025 introduced a more complex discussion.

While initial commentary sought to attribute the outage to the high penetration of renewable energy within the system, subsequent analysis has pointed elsewhere. The incident instead highlighted a broader issue facing multiple European markets: whether grid infrastructure, operational systems and regulatory frameworks are evolving quickly enough to support large-scale renewable deployment.

For lawyers, lenders, insurers and developers, this distinction matters.

The key legal and commercial risks in the energy transition are increasingly moving beyond the question of whether projects can be developed. The focus is shifting toward whether energy systems can operate reliably, flexibly and accountably at scale.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Market in 2026: Growth, Litigation Risk and the Role of Insurance

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Germany remains one of Europe’s most important renewable energy markets. With ambitious 2030 targets, continued growth in wind and solar, and increasing focus on battery energy storage systems, the direction of travel is clear.

The German market is moving at scale.

Renewable installed capacity increased by nearly 21 GW in 2025, reaching just under 210 GW in total. Renewables also accounted for around 55% of gross electricity consumption, against Germany’s target of 80% by 2030.

For developers, lenders and legal advisers, this creates significant opportunity. However, it also brings a familiar challenge: the gap between policy ambition and project delivery.

Permitting reform may support faster deployment, but litigation risk continues to affect renewable energy schemes. Legal challenges can delay construction, require project modifications and create additional, unbudgeted costs before any final judgment is reached.

For lawyers advising on renewable energy projects, the question is no longer simply whether a permit can be obtained. It is whether the project can withstand the financial consequences of challenge, suspension and interruption.

Judicial Review Reform in Ireland: A Structural Shift with Material Implications for Development Risk

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The Irish Government’s proposed Civil Reform Bill 2025 represents one of the most significant overhauls of civil litigation in decades. At its core sits a fundamental reconfiguration of judicial review, a mechanism which has long been central to planning, infrastructure, and environmental disputes.

For lawyers advising on development risk, the reforms are both commercially material and legally nuanced. They promise greater procedural certainty and speed, yet have prompted notable concern within the legal community regarding access to justice and the recalibration of long-established principles.