28/07/2025 in Views from Echelon

Echelon Data Centres has announced the signing of a joint venture (JV) agreement with Iberdrola, a leading global renewable power producer and one of the largest electricity companies in the world, 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 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 planning, design, commercialisation, and the day-to-day management of the Joint Venture while Iberdrola will source and secure suitable land plots with robust grid connectivity for data centre development, while also 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 160,000 sqm 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, fully meeting the data centre’s electricity needs.

The strategic alliance between Echelon and Iberdrola will enable renewable energy generation and infrastructure to realise a sustainable future for data centre development across Spain. The alliance is underpinned by guarantees to generate and consume renewable energy to support the operation of the data centres on a long-term basis, aligning 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.

This partnership is further evidence of Echelon’s ability to open up new data centre opportunities by leveraging our experience in developing innovative pathways to power and facilitating best in class hyperscale infrastructure solutions. Commenting on the new alliance, David Smith, Chief Investment Officer at Echelon Data Centres, commented that the combination of Echelon and Iberdrola would be a compelling partnership for Echelon’s customers in the Spanish market.

Mr Smith said “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.”

“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,” said David Mesonero Molina, Corporate Development Director of Iberdrola.

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