Iberdrola and Echelon Data Centres, a prominent European hyperscale infrastructure provider, have announced a strategic joint venture aimed at developing and operating data centres throughout Spain. This initiative represents the largest binding agreement of its kind in Europe between an energy utility and a data centre developer.
In this partnership, Iberdrola via its subsidiary CPD4Green will hold a 20% stake and will be responsible for identifying and securing land with grid access. Additionally, it will supply renewable electricity around the clock to power the facilities.
“This agreement strengthens Iberdrola’s strategy to facilitate the development of data centres, which have already become a key driver for electricity demand growth. The alliance signed with Echelon will allow us to leverage our portfolio of sites with grid connection and our capacity to provide these infrastructures with secure, clean and competitive energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” stated David Mesonero Molina, Iberdrola’s Director of Corporate Development.
David Smith, Chief Investment Officer at Echelon Data Centres, remarked: “Entering the Spanish data centre market has been a strategic goal for Echelon for several years. Spain offers significant advantages to our clients: access to large-scale renewable energy with some of the lowest prices in Europe and excellent construction and operational capabilities. Our partner, Iberdrola, is a global energy leader and we are delighted to have this opportunity to work together to deliver world-class data processing infrastructure for our clients.”
Echelon, headquartered in Dublin and owned by Starwood Capital Group, will maintain an 80% stake and will lead the development, design, commercialization, and ongoing operations of the data centres.
The first project of the joint venture, Madrid Sur, will encompass a 160,000 m² facility with a data processing capacity of 144 megawatts (MW) and a secured 230 MW grid connection. It is expected to become operational before 2030 and will require 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity annually sourced from an on-site solar photovoltaic plant and additional clean energy from Iberdrola. The project is anticipated to create approximately 1,500 jobs.
Source: Iberdrola
