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Google opens E75m Dublin data centre

Friday, September 28 11:52:53

Google today opened its new E75 million data centre.

The new data centre - which houses computers that run cloud computing services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps - ranks amongst the most energy efficient in the world.

It uses an advanced air-cooling system to keep its computers running smoothly, taking advantage of Ireland's naturally cool climate. As a result, the centre does not require costly and power-hungry air-conditioning units, which are still used in many traditional data centres. This enables Google to reduce significantly its energy requirements and helps maintain its global status as a carbon-neutral company.

Construction of the data centre took just under one year to complete, and in total over 1,000 people working for over 90 specialist building and engineering companies contributed to the build, with an average of 250 people working on site on any given day.

Over 80pc of the businesses involved were Irish. In total approximately 400,000 man-hours were dedicated to design and construction of the data centre.

Now that it is operational, the data centre will provide employment for 30 people in a range of roles including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, catering and security staff.

Speaking at the event, Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said: "Cloud computing forms a key part of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, and today's announcement by Google shows clearly what is possible for Ireland in this sector. Our technological infrastructure is rapidly improving and cloud computing is one area where our climate gives us advantages. It also shows the extent to which Google, one of the world's leading companies, is deeply committed to Ireland, with an increasing range of operations located here and over 2,500 people now employed. The Government will build on announcements like this with more ambitious policies to take advantage of this potential and contribute to our recovery."

John Herlihy, head of Google in Ireland, said: "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 data centre is a key long-term investment for us and further strengthens our ties with the city and the country."

Dan Costello, Google's global data centre operations director, added: "We build our data centers to exacting standards: they must be able to deliver the lightning fast, highly secure services our users expect. But as a company committed to carbon neutrality, we also make sure that our data centres are extremely efficient in their use of electricity - we use around 50pc less energy than a typical data centre. The new Dublin data centre, with its highly efficient air-cooling system, continues this trend."