Dublin based Echelon Data Centres  has been granted planning permission for its planned 45,000m² facility in Arklow, Co Wicklow. The new data centre represents an investment of €500 million and will have a capacity of up to 100MW.

The project will create 540 jobs – 450 in construction and 90 operational positions. It is located on the former Irish Fertilisers Industries site in Avoca Business Park, next to the M11 in Arklow and is the subject of a substantial investment by Echelon Data Centres.

The initial development phase of the project will be funded by the company and the first 35MW of capacity will be available from Q1 2021.

The potential capacity of the Arklow site – which has significant grid power available to it – is almost 20% of all operational data centre capacity currently available in Ireland and nearly 10% of that either planned or in development.

The Arklow facility has the potential to be one of the largest data centres in the world, serving large companies operating in e-commerce, cloud computing, digital broadcasting, social media, telecommunications and the internet of things.

Niall Molloy, CEO of Echelon Data Centres, welcomed the decision to grant planning permission and said that the provision of customisable, scalable data centre facilities is key to the continuing growth of the Irish, and the global, digital economies.

“We’re very pleased to have been granted planning permission for the Arklow site, and we intend to begin developing it immediately. Work has already commenced on Echelon’s other site in Clondalkin and between the two Irish sites, and other locations that we are in the process of identifying and acquiring in Ireland, the UK and Europe, Echelon will become one of Europe’s largest data centre providers,” said Molloy in a statement to the Press.

“What our plans mean for Ireland is the creation of many high-quality jobs. The development and operation of the sites in Arklow and Clondalkin will provide employment for 1,100 people through a total capital investment of €1 billion, enhancing and supporting Ireland’s growing tech ecosystem.”

“The capacity available across our first two facilities is the equivalent of 34% of all current operational capacity available in Ireland and about 15% of all capacity in planning and development.

“This will enable us to accommodate future growth strategies for clients. Echelon’s hands-on and flexible approach to meeting customer requirements goes as far as offering a site identification, acquisition and development service,” he concluded.

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