Data-center law in Montenegro

National jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-07

Montenegro has no data-center-specific siting, permitting, or utility statute; a data-center project is governed by the general energy-licensing and environmental-review frameworks. The Energy Law, recast in 2025, sets Montenegro's licensing regime for electricity generation, distribution and supply and its grid-connection procedure for a new production facility, storage installation, or large industrial customer.

The Law on Environmental Impact Assessment requires an environmental-impact study and the responsible authority's consent before a project in the energy, industrial or communal-services sectors, among others, may proceed to construction or licensing. Land-use and construction permitting, water-utility, air-emissions-operation, and investment-incentive frameworks that may also govern a data-center project in Montenegro were not reached in this review.

Instruments on record

2 instruments on record, grouped by the family of approval each one governs.

Environmental review

What impact review must precede approval, and who leads it?

Law on Environmental Impact Assessment

In force

Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 075/18

Applies to both

Article 4 subjects to environmental-impact assessment a planned project in industry, mining, energy, transport, tourism, agriculture, forestry, water management, or communal services, and a project planned within a protected natural asset or immovable cultural asset.

Article 8 bars a project holder required to prepare an assessment study from proceeding with the project, or from obtaining an operating approval, without the competent authority's consent to that study or a decision that no study is required.

Article 35 fines a legal person 2,000 to 40,000 euros, a responsible person in a legal entity 500 to 4,000 euros, an entrepreneur 1,000 to 12,000 euros, and, for the same violations, a natural person 250 to 2,000 euros, as a misdemeanor, for proceeding without that consent or for failing to carry out the measures the consent or decision sets.

Article 40 ties the Law's entry into force to the eighth day after its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, but the consolidated text read for this review confirms only that the Assembly adopted the Law on 12 November 2018, not the specific publication day beyond the gazette number.

Source: Full text of law

Energy and grid

What authorizations govern grid connection and onsite generation?

Energy Law

In force

Energy Law, Official Gazette of Montenegro Nos. 028/25 and 003/26

Applies to both

Article 75 restricts performance of an energy activity, including electricity or gas production, storage, transmission, distribution and supply, to a business entity, legal or natural person, or entrepreneur meeting the Law's conditions.

Article 56 sets those conditions, among them technical equipment, a qualified workforce, and unencumbered access to financial resources on the applicant's own account, and the Energy and Water Regulatory Agency (Regagen) issues the license and, under Article 67, may temporarily withdraw it for noncompliance.

Articles 164 through 175 govern a request to connect a new production facility, energy storage installation, or large industrial customer to the transmission or distribution system, including the connection agreement, the connection fee, and the metering equipment a system operator must install and maintain at the connection point.

Article 272 ties the Law's entry into force to the eighth day after its publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro, but the consolidated text read for this review states only the year and month of that publication for the underlying instrument, not the specific day.

Source: Full text of law

Every entry cites the instrument it describes. None of it is legal advice: verify a citation before relying on it. Full sourcing: read the methodology. The rest of the record: all jurisdictions.