Iberdrola, Echelon Launch €2bn Madrid Data Center JV

Iberdrola, Spain's largest utility, and Echelon Data Centers have formed a €2 billion joint venture, marking the largest binding agreement between an energy provider and a data infrastructure developer to date. Echelon, backed by Starwood Capital Group, owns 80% of the venture, while Iberdrola holds 20% through its CPD4Green subsidiary. Their first project, 'Madrid Sur,' will be a 160,000 square-meter campus near Madrid with a 144 MW processing capacity, a 230 MW grid connection, and is expected to create about 1,500 jobs. The facility is slated to be operational by 2030 and will consume 1 TWh of electricity annually, supplied by an on-site solar plant and additional renewable energy from Iberdrola. The partnership leverages Iberdrola's grid and renewable assets and supports Echelon's entry into the Spanish market, attracted by low-cost renewable energy and favorable policies. This move reflects rising demand for energy-intensive data centers driven by AI and cloud computing.