Iberdrola and Echelon Data Centres Finalise Strategic €2 Billion Alliance to Develop Major Spanish Data Infrastructure
Iberdrola and Echelon Data Centres have officially completed a landmark strategic partnership aimed at transforming Spain into one of Europe’s most advanced destinations for large-scale digital infrastructure. The collaboration has resulted in the creation of Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra, a new joint venture that plans to invest more than €2 billion in the development, construction, and operation of cutting-edge data centres across the country. This agreement marks the most significant European joint venture to date between a renewable energy leader and a dedicated data centre developer.
The closing of the transaction—first announced in July 2025—comes after the partners secured all necessary regulatory approvals. With these formalities completed, Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra is now set to begin commercial operations immediately. The new venture will primarily target hyperscale cloud companies and the rapidly expanding ecosystem of artificial intelligence infrastructure providers, two sectors experiencing unprecedented global growth. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, demand for high-capacity, energy-secure, and low-carbon data processing facilities continues to skyrocket, positioning Spain as a prime investment destination.
Madrid Sur: The First Flagship Project
The joint venture’s inaugural development will be Madrid Sur, an ambitious hyperscale campus that underscores the scale and vision behind the alliance. The project will span 160,000 square metres and deliver 144 MW of installed data processing capacity. Importantly, Iberdrola has already secured a 230 MW electricity connection, ensuring stable, high-volume energy access crucial for large data centre operations.
Madrid Sur is designed not only to support current digital infrastructure needs but to anticipate future technological demands, particularly those associated with AI model training, cloud expansion, and high-intensity computational workloads. To guarantee sustainability and energy efficiency, the facility will be powered by a combination of an on-site photovoltaic solar plant along with additional renewable energy supplied directly by Iberdrola. This integrated approach will ensure a 100% clean and reliable electricity supply, aligning with both companies’ commitments to decarbonisation.
Beyond its technological capabilities, Madrid Sur will also deliver strong economic benefits. The project is expected to generate approximately 1,500 direct and indirect jobs, spanning engineering, construction, facility management, and ongoing operations. Once fully operational, the facility’s estimated electricity demand will reach 1 TWh, highlighting the scale of power required as data-driven industries continue to expand.
A Partnership Built on Complementary Strengths
The alliance leverages the unique capabilities of each partner to shape a vertically integrated model for data centre development in Spain.
Iberdrola, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy utilities, brings extensive experience in clean power generation, major infrastructure deployment, and long-term energy management. Its responsibilities within the joint venture include:
- Identifying and securing land with access to robust electrical infrastructure
- Guaranteeing 24/7 renewable energy supply, ensuring carbon-neutral operations
- Developing and managing the large-scale grid connections required for hyperscale data facilities
These capabilities are essential given the increasingly stringent sustainability requirements of global technology companies.
Echelon Data Centres, a developer with a strong track record in Ireland and the UK, will take the lead on the data centre lifecycle itself, including:
- Permitting and regulatory approvals
- Architectural design and engineering
- Facility construction, fit-out, and commissioning
- Marketing and customer acquisition for hyperscale clients
- Ongoing campus operations and management
Together, the companies aim to deliver highly efficient, globally competitive digital infrastructure aligned with the EU’s energy transition goals.
The joint venture structure allocates up to 80% ownership to Echelon, with Iberdrola holding the remaining stake. In parallel to this partnership, Iberdrola has already secured over 700 MW in electricity connections in strategic locations around Madrid, creating a strong foundation for additional large-scale data centre developments. These future projects could collectively mobilise up to €6 billion in further investment.
For Iberdrola, the partnership strengthens its role as a preferred energy partner for the data centre sector—a market where it already supplies more than 11 TWh annually to global technology firms and digital infrastructure operators.
Spain’s Emergence as a European Digital Hub
Spain is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most important digital gateways, thanks to a combination of geographic, energy, and connectivity advantages. More than 70% of data traffic entering Europe now passes through Spain, a reflection of the country’s robust fibre-optic backbone and a dense network of submarine cable landings that connect Europe with the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
This strategic position, combined with:
- Abundant renewable energy resources
- Competitive power prices
- A highly developed electrical grid
- Favourable climate for efficient data centre cooling
- Pro-investment regulatory frameworks
makes Spain an increasingly attractive destination for hyperscale cloud providers and AI infrastructure developers.
As data consumption rises exponentially and AI models grow in complexity and size, Europe requires vast new capacity to support cloud workloads, latency-sensitive applications, and sovereign digital infrastructure. Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra positions Spain at the forefront of this transformation.
By combining Iberdrola’s renewable energy leadership with Echelon’s data centre expertise, the new joint venture aims to deliver sustainable, scalable, and globally competitive digital infrastructure—strengthening Spain’s role as a central hub for Europe’s digital future and setting a new benchmark for clean, high-performance data centre development.
Source Link: https://www.iberdrola.com/
