Image courtesy Iberdrola
Iberdrola and Dublin-based Echelon Data Centres, owner and operator of large-scale data centre infrastructure in Europe, have announced a strategic joint venture to build and operate data centres in Spain.
Through the collaboration, Spain-based utility giant Iberdrola will hold a 20% stake through its subsidiary CPD4Green, which has a portfolio of sites with a capacity of 700MW in Spain and potential for another 5,000MW.
Iberdrola will be responsible for identifying and securing land with connectivity to the electricity grid where the centres can be developed. In addition, it will supply electricity 24/7 to the centres.
Echelon, whose major shareholder is global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group, will hold the remaining 80% and will be responsible for the development, design, marketing and day-to-day management of the joint venture.
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The first of the projects for the joint venture will be Madrid Sur, a 160,000m² complex that will offer 144MW of data processing and that already has a 230MW electricity connection secured.
This centre, which will create around 1,500 jobs and is expected to be operational before 2030, will involve a demand of 1TWH that will be covered by a photovoltaic solar plant that will be built on-site, complemented by additional clean energy capacity from Iberdrola.
Commenting in a release was David Mesonero Molina, corporate development director of Iberdrola: “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 secure, clean and competitive energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
David Smith, chief investment officer at Echelon Data Centres, said: “Entering the Spanish data centre market has been a strategic goal for Echelon for several years.
“Spain has material benefits for our customers: access to large-scale renewable energy with some of the lowest prices in Europe and large construction and operation capacities. Our partner, Iberdrola, is a global energy leader and we are delighted to have this opportunity to partner to offer the best data processing infrastructures to our customers.”
More than 70% of data traffic to Europe passes through Spain, thanks to its fibre optic network, its submarine connections, its availability of clean and competitive energy and its electricity network.
