Google opens €75m energy-efficient datacentre facility in Dublin

Google’s new €75m Dublin datacentre facility, which houses computers that provide critical cloud-based services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps, is now operational.

The datacentre, at Profile Park in Clondalkin, Dublin – which took almost a year to build – uses an advanced air-cooling system and takes advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate. According to Google, this enables it to reduce power requirements significantly.  

Using natural or free-air cooling means the facility does not require costly and power-hungry air-conditioning units, which are still used in many traditional datacentres.

“As a company committed to carbon neutrality, we make sure that our datacentres are extremely efficient in their use of electricity," said Dan Costello, Google’s global datacentre operations director. "We use around 50% less energy than a typical datacentre. The new Dublin datacentre, with its highly efficient air-cooling system, continues this trend.”

Now that it is operational, the datacentre will provide employment opportunities in a range of roles including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, catering and security staff.

The IT facility was officially opened by Ireland’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton.

“Cloud computing forms a key part of the government’s action plan for jobs. Our technological infrastructure is improving and cloud computing is one area where our climate gives us advantages,” said Bruton.

In total, approximately 400,000 man-hours were dedicated to design and construction of the Dublin datacentre and employed over 1,000 professionals, according to Google.

“Demand for our services has grown rapidly in the past few years and our footprint in Ireland has expanded too - we now employ over 2,500 people here in Dublin, up from around 2,000 a year ago. Our new datacentre is a long-term investment and further strengthens our ties with Ireland,”said John Herlihy, head of Google in Ireland.

Many of the UK's technology giants have datacentres based in Dublin, including Amazon and Microsoft. Twitter also recently announced plans to open an international headquarters in Ireland.

As part of its commitment to carbon-neutrality, the company earlier this week announced that it will use wind energy to power its Oklahoma datacentre facility.