News | Headlines
Iberdrola JV to invest €2 bn in data centres
Spain Renewables
Iberdrola has created a new joint venture with Echelon Data Centres, Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra, which plans to invest more than €2 billion in large-scale data centre developments across Spain. The JV, and completion of the transaction to set it up, were initially announced in July.
The new venture, which Iberdrola believes is the largest between an energy company and a data centre developer, has more than 700 MW secured and a potential portfolio of 5000 MW. Now, after obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, Echelon Iberdrola Digital Infra will begin its commercial activity with a focus on hyperscale technology companies and providers of infrastructure and services for AI. The first project of this alliance will be Madrid Sur, a 160 000 sq m complex that will have 144 MW for data processing, and has a 230 MW electricity connection already secured. The estimated demand of the project is 1TWh. It will have a photovoltaic solar plant and additional renewable energy from Iberdrola to guarantee all its electricity consumption. David Mesonero Molina, director of Corporate Development at Iberdrola,
commenting during the joint venture launch, said: “This agreement reinforces Iberdrola’s strategy of facilitating the development of data centres, which have become a key driver of growth in electricity demand”.
Iberdrola will be responsible for identifying and securing land with good connectivity to the electricity grid and ensuring a 24/7 clean energy supply. For its part, Echelon will assume the permitting, design, marketing and operation processes. The stake in the joint venture will be up to 80% for Echelon, which is a privately held company that develops, owns and operates hyperscale data centres campuses in Europe. The company has a portfolio of more than 2GW in Tier 1 markets such as Dublin, London and Milan. The remaining 20% goes to Iberdrola through its subsidiary CPD4Green, the company’s digital infrastructure arm set up to accelerate the deployment of data centres with potential partners, starting in Spain. Iberdrola has secured 700 MW in electricity connections for the joint venture in strategic areas near Madrid, and is planning new projects that could add up to €6 billion ($6.9 billion) of investment.
New research project on engine safety Finland R & D
A new co-research initiative has been launched to advance engine safety and reliability through advanced predictive technologies, bringing together leading partners. The Early Detection of Extreme Engine Events (EDE3) initiative, managed in the WISE ecosystem, aims to develop a framework for real-time identification, characterisation and prevention of extreme engine events. The framework integrates on-engine monitoring, fault simulation modelling, and adaptive signal processing to fault prediction mapping. In addition, fault cases will be generated and validated through experimental testing. Led by Turku University of Applied Sciences,
700 MWh BESS for Wales
Wales Energy storage
the EDE3 initiative is a collaborative effort of Wärtsilä, Nome Oy, Agco Power Oy, Unikie Oy, and EDRMedeso Oy.
“The EDE3 research project is expected to advance the capabilities of engine diagnostics and predictive maintenance, supporting Wärtsilä and the wider industry in adapting to evolving energy systems,” says Dr Tero Frondelius, senior manager, Research & Method Development at Wärtsilä. “By exploring new approaches to early fault detection and digital modelling, the project will explore the possibility of greater reliability and efficiency, which are increasingly important as the energy transition accelerates. This research could help shape future practices and technologies across various industrial sectors.”
The project will run until July 2027. In September 2026, its results be made available to a wider audience at a seminar during Suomen Mekaniikkapäivät, Finnish Mechanics Days, a periodic academic conference in Finland held every three years. WISE – Wide and Intelligent Sustainable Energy – is an initiative co-funded by Business Finland, with the goal of developing zero- emission balancing power.
8 | November/December 2025 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
RWE, the largest power producer in Wales, has taken the final investment decision to go ahead with its largest UK storage project, Pembroke Battery Storage. The circa £200 million development, once constructed, is expected to play an important role in the operation of the Pembroke Net Zero Centre decarbonisation hub in South Wales. The project construction was announced by the First Minister for Wales, Eluned Morgan, at the Wales Investment Summit, underlining the Welsh government’s commitment to attracting major infrastructure investment that will support the nation’s clean energy transition. The project received planning consent in January this year and was also successful in the UK’s latest Capacity Market auction, securing a critical route to market. Construction will start in the first half of 2026, with commissioning and operations expected in the second half 2028, subject to receiving an updated grid connection. The storage system would be located on a 5.1 ha site south of RWE’s Pembroke power station and will consist of 212 lithium-ion battery containers. Once constructed and fully operational, the 700 MWh battery will be capable of continually discharging up to 350 MWe directly to the grid for two hours. Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE: “Our Pembroke battery is our UK flagship storage project and will make an important contribution to stabilising the UK energy market by efficiently storing surplus energy and feeding it into the national grid in a targeted manner when required.” To operate the plant in harmony with the local ecosystem, part of the Pembroke Battery project will involve implementing biodiversity measures in the areas surrounding the operational power station site including meadow planting, native woodland and scrub planting, and developing a new large pond to support local wildlife. RWE currently operates battery storage systems with a total capacity of around 1.2 GW, in the USA, Europe and Australia, has a further 2.7 GW under construction, and plans to significantly increase its worldwide battery storage capacity.
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