DATA CENTRES IN SPAIN

Data centres and renewable energies, the key driving force to digitalising the Spanish economy and moving to electrification

Data centres or data processing centres (DPC) play a fundamental role in the digitisation and electrification of the Spanish economy. These technological infrastructures store, manage and process information from companies, institutions and users, supporting key industries such as finance, transport and energy.

Servers with hard disks in a data center

Spain is positioning itself as a strategic hub for the implementation of data centres thanks to its geographical location in Europe, its connection with Latin America and the ample availability of renewable energy throughout the country.

Below, we’ll explain how these data centres work and how Iberdrola Group, of which Iberdrola España forms part, is committed to their development in Spain.

What’s a data centre and how does it work?

A data centre is a facility designed to house and manage servers, storage systems and telecommunications equipment. Its main purpose is to ensure the secure and efficient storage, processing and distribution of large volumes of data.

These infrastructures can vary in size and complexity, from a small room with a few servers to huge installations with thousands of interconnected servers. To make sure their operation continues uninterrupted, they have:

Redundant power supply systems to circumvent power outages
Advanced air conditioning systems to cope with overheating
Cybersecurity protocols to protect all stored information

The heart of a data centre is its servers, which process and store information. Thanks to their connection to high-capacity grids, these centres ensure the availability of digital services in real time, enabling remote access and guaranteeing companies’ and institutions’ operational continuity.

Data centres operate 24 x 7 x 365 ensuring supply availability. Their electrical power is so key that the size of data centres is measured in megawatts based on their energy needs.

What is a data centre for?

Data centres are essential infrastructures for the digital economy. Their functions may vary depending on the needs of the owner and the infrastructure, but here are the main ones:

Data storage and management: they enable storing and managing large volumes of data securely and efficiently. They are essential in industries such as artificial intelligence and scientific research.
Running applications and services on the cloud: Platforms such as social networking and streaming services rely on these centres to operate, ensuring the availability of and access to online services.
Security and recovery: They protect critical information and guarantee companies’ and governments’ operational continuity in the event of any issues or incidents.
Global connectivity: They facilitate connection between users and services worldwide, ensuring fast and efficient communication.

Types of data centres

There are different types of data centres depending on their size and purpose:

Hyperscale: These are the largest data centres and offer cloud computing services to external clients. In Spain, their capacity is usually between 20 and 50 megawatts (MW), although larger facilities are being developed that exceed 250 MW. Companies such as Microsoft, Meta, AWS and Google operate these kinds of centres.
Housing: They lease their space and resources to third parties, such as fast-growing cloud services companies like Netflix, Spotify and Uber. They are smaller than hyperscale, with capacities of between 10-20 MW in Spain, although projects of up to 100 MW are being developed.
Private: These are owned by companies or institutions and are designed to meet their own data processing needs. Although they are usually the smallest, they can range in size from small server rooms to large-scale facilities taking up several buildings.

Iberdrola Group's commitment to data centres in Spain

Spain has a unique opportunity to become the European hub for data centres thanks to its strategic location, its energy infrastructure and its firm commitment to renewable energies. In fact, more than 70% of data traffic to the European continent passes through Spain.

In this context, the company is working on developing a portfolio of projects in various locations across Spain. The initiatives are at different stages of development, with some already considering permits for access and connection to the electricity grid.

As part of its data centre strategy, the Iberdrola Group is strengthening its presence in this market with the creation of CDP4Green, an initiative focused on developing sustainable infrastructures that operate with 100% renewable power. This new company has chosen Spain as its initial market due to the ample availability of land, together with a well-developed electricity grid and more than 22 GWs of renewable energy capacity.

The company is leveraging on its expertise and assets to drive the expansion of these infrastructures by offering long-term power contracts (PPAs) with a 24-hour renewable energy guarantees.

Data centres in the Basque Country

Iberdrola Group is a shareholder of ADI Data Center Euskadi, an entity created to lead the digital transformation of companies and institutions in the Basque Country through the creation of data centres in the region.

The first Tier 1 data centre will be located on the Abanto campus of the Euskadi Technology Park in Abanto, Bizkaia, with a capacity of 2 MW, and is scheduled to start operating in the second quarter of 2025.

ADI Data Center Euskadi aims to drive the technological and digital transition in the Basque Country, highlighting the importance of managing and protecting strategic data at a local level. The project’s main objective is to ensure that Basque companies and institutions have advanced technologies to adopt solutions such as the cloud, AI, IoT and other digital tools, with maximum security guarantees.

Data centres in Madrid

A study carried out by Spain DC, the Spanish data centre association, names Madrid the best location for the development of this kinds of facilities in the country, representing 55% of the offering on the market last year.

The Iberdrola Group has identified the possibility of creating a hub in the area of influence of the Community of Madrid.