Echelon Data Centres, an Irish-owned developer and operator of large-scale data centre infrastructure, has announced the signing of a joint venture (JV) agreement with Iberdrola, a global renewable power producer, to build and operate data centres in Spain.
Echelon’s major shareholder is Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm with approximately $115 billion (£85.72 billion) in assets under management in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Driven by the growing demand for cloud and AI services, the agreement is intended to expand Echelon’s international data centre portfolio with 100% of its Spanish power infrastructure and energy supply needs provided by Iberdrola.
Echelon will be responsible for the planning, design, commercialisation, and day-to-day management of the JV, while Iberdrola will source and secure suitable land plots with grid connectivity for data centre development, as well as ensuring a continuous 24/7 supply of clean energy.
Echelon will own 80% of the JV, with Iberdrola owning the remaining 20% through its dedicated digital infrastructure subsidiary, CPD4Green.
Echelon Data Centres has more than 600 MW of capacity either operational or in planning in Ireland and the UK. CPD4Green has already secured more than 700MW of power connections, including Tier-1 locations close to Madrid and in Aragon.
The first of the JV projects to be constructed will be Madrid South, a 160,000m² campus, expected to reach ready for service by 2030.
The site has already secured a power connection of nearly 230 MW. An on-site solar PV facility will supply the DC with renewable energy, complemented by additional clean energy capacity from Iberdrola.
The alliance between Echelon and Iberdrola aims to enable renewable energy generation and infrastructure to realise a sustainable future for data centre development across Spain.
The collaboration is underpinned by guarantees to generate and consume renewable energy to support the operation of the data centres on a long-term basis.
These data centres will align with the sustainability targets of both Echelon Data Centres and Iberdrola while also aligning with the objectives of the EU’s Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact.
Commenting on the new partnership, David Smith, Chief Investment Officer at Echelon Data Centres, says, “Entering the Spanish data centre market has been a strategic goal for Echelon for several years.
“Spain has material benefits as a market for our customers: a supportive regulatory and policy environment, high-quality talent from both a construction and operational perspective, and access to some of Europe’s lowest price renewable energy, in scale.
“Our partner, Iberdrola, is a world leader in building and operating generation assets and we are delighted to have this opportunity to partner together to deliver critical infrastructure for our customers.”
David Mesonero Molina, Corporate Development Director of Iberdrola, adds, “This agreement reinforces Iberdrola’s strategy of facilitating the development of data centres, which have already become a key vector for the growth in electricity demand.
“The alliance signed with Echelon will allow us to value our portfolio of sites with access to electricity connection and our ability to offer these infrastructures safe, clean, and competitive energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
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