09-05-2025
Work to begin on large-scale data centre in Arklow
Work is to begin later this year on the first of two large-scale data centres in Arklow, Co Wicklow, which will create 715 permanent jobs as well as 2,600 roles during construction.
The project has a total investment of €3.5 billion.
The development is by Irish-owned company Echelon Data Centres which had operations in the UK, North America and Europe.
The first of the two facilities was granted an electrical connection last year because it is located in an area where power supplies are not constrained.
The project will also generate electricity which will be fed into the national grid.
Its power will come from a mixture gas and renewables including solar, battery storage and biomethane.
The project will have the facility to generate power and dispatch it to the electricity grid when needed.
The first of the two data centres is being developed on the former Irish Fertilisers Industries plant at the Avoca River Business Park in Arklow. The second is being developed 5km away at Kish Business Park.
The grid connection will allow Echelon to begin work on a 220kV substation that will allow access to the grid for up to 800MW of wind energy which is to be generated off the coast of Co Wicklow in future.
The company says its investment in renewable fuels will "replace fossil fuel consumed".
Last year the first facility, DUB20, became the first large scale data centre to receive a grid connection from State body Eirgrid for more than four years.
The company said this reflected the fact that the site meets the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities criteria for data centres.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the data centres "will deliver jobs and economic benefits for Wicklow and will encourage further foreign direct investment in Ireland".
Last year, Echelon announced Starwood Capital Group had invested approximately €850m to become a 50% shareholder in the company.
Both data centres will have to total IT load capacity of 90 megawatts each.
Echelon already has data centres in Dublin and the UK and is run by CEO Niall Molloy.
Friends of the Earth has raised major issues with data centres.
Its campaign director Jerry MacEvilly said that the "significant problem is that data centres such as this are dependent on expensive, polluting gas power plants for long periods and often use significant amounts of gas".
