Vantage Data Centers is investing more than €1 billion in a new data center campus in Dublin.
Construction will take place in several phases, starting with 52 MW of IT capacity, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2024. Once completed, the new DUB1 campus will become the company's 14th in the EMEA region. .
Located around nine miles from Dublin city center in Profile Park, Grange Castle, the 22-acre site will be home to a 405,000 sq ft campus with a 32 MW and a 20 MW facility. Land and power are available to add a third facility in the future, the firm said.
The campus will offer an annualized energy use efficiency (PUE) of 1.2 and will use virtually no water for cooling.
Meanwhile, it will include an on-site 100MVA multi-fuel generation plant capable of using a combination of fuels, primarily hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and gas powered by Gas Networks Ireland. The generating plant can also channel energy back to the grid.
Vantage plans to use HVO instead of conventional diesel fuel across its fleet of backup generators and revealed it is working to secure corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) for green energy, such as biomethane, from local suppliers.
Currently, HVO accounts for 99% of fuel needs during the construction phase.
“Vantage is committed to environmental responsibility and is pleased that our sustainability objectives, including reducing emissions, achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and maximizing energy efficiency, are closely aligned with those of the Irish Government and regulators as we continue to grow Ireland's position as a leading country in the digital era of cloud computing,” said Jinél Fourie, Director of Public Policy EMEA at Vantage Data Centers.
“As environmental technology continues to advance, including the inaugural use of a multi-fuel generation plant in Dublin, we look forward to continuing our local partnerships to explore additional solutions to improve the local community.”
The rapid growth of data centers has become a controversial issue in Ireland, with their combined electricity consumption increasing by a third between 2021 and 2022, and by 400% since 2015, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Ireland.
Rules introduced in 2021 mean that new data centers will only be allowed if they have a suitable location, the ability to use backup generators and the ability to reduce power consumption when requested.
However, Labour's climate spokesperson, Senator Rebecca Moynihan, recently called for a pause on all data center developments while their impact on energy supply is investigated.
