Iberdrola and Echelon Data Centres, a leading European provider of hyperscale infrastructure, have announced a strategic joint venture to develop and operate data centres across Spain. This marks the largest binding agreement of its kind in Europe between an energy utility and a data centre developer.
Under the partnership, Iberdrola—through its subsidiary CPD4Green—will hold a 20% stake and take responsibility for identifying and securing land with grid access. It will also supply 24/7 renewable electricity 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,” said David Mesonero Molina, Iberdrola’s Director of Corporate Development.
David Smith, Chief Investment Officer at Echelon Data Centres, commented: “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, based in Dublin and owned by Starwood Capital Group, will retain an 80% stake and lead the development, design, commercialisation, and ongoing operations of the data centres.
The joint venture’s first project, Madrid Sur, will be a 160,000 m² facility with 144 megawatts (MW) of data processing capacity and a secured 230 MW grid connection. Expected to become operational before 2030, the centre will require 1 terawatt-hour (TWh) of electricity annually—supplied by an on-site solar photovoltaic plant and additional clean energy from Iberdrola. The project is projected to generate approximately 1,500 jobs.
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