A year after announcing its plans to construct a €75m data centre in Dublin, Google has opened the new centre at Profile Park in Clondalkin, creating 30 roles and bringing the company’s headcount to over 2,500 in Ireland.
The new data centre houses computers that run cloud computing services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps. It will rank amongst the most energy efficient in the world, according to the company.
The centre is deploying an advanced air-cooling system to keep its computers running smoothly, taking advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate. As a result, Google said the centre does not require costly and power-hungry air-conditioning units, which are still used in many traditional data centres.
In all, it took more than 1,000 people working for more than 90 building and engineering companies to carry out the build, which took less than a year.
Google said the centre will provide employment for 30 people, with roles ranging from computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers to catering and security staff.
Speaking at the opening, John Herlihy, head of Google in Ireland, detailed how demand for the company’s services has morphed “rapidly” in the past few years.
“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,” he said.
Energy efficiency
Meanwhile, Google’s global data centre operations director Dan Costello spoke about how the company goes about building its data centres.
“We build our data centres to exacting standards: they must be able to deliver the lightning fast, highly secure services our users expect,” he said.
In relation to achieving carbon neutrality, Costello spoke about how, in terms of electricity usage, Google’s data centres 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,” he said.
Welcoming the new Google facility, Barry O’Leary, head of IDA Ireland, spoke about Ireland as a location for data centres.
“Their new facility is another endorsement of Ireland’s credentials as a location for major data centres. Our favourable weather conditions and extensive technological infrastructure – including communications links like the new East-West interconnector with the UK – will ensure that data centre operators continue to locate here in coming years,” he said.
