The technology park, developed and operated by Echelon Data Centres, represents a multi-billion-euro investment on a site that was in industrial use for decades as the Kilmeaden cheese factory.

What’s on the Technology Park?

The technology park comprises:

• Three data centre buildings
• An energy generation plant
• A solar farm
• A battery array to store solar energy

Generating more renewables

The project’s electricity demand is designed to be matched by new renewably-generated energy contracted specifically to power the data centre, over and above the renewable energy already in the grid. The on-site solar farm and battery storage generate and store renewable power on the site itself.

Where do we get our additional energy from?

The campus includes an on-site energy centre. Its primary role is to support the electricity grid as it can provide power at times of system stress and is not intended to run continuously. The data centre’s everyday electricity is drawn from the grid through a dedicated connection.

Will it take power from local homes and businesses?

This site cannot take power from local homes and businesses. The campus has been strategically located on a part of the electricity network that power system analysis shows can facilitate new demand capacity. In addition, the energy centre is designed to support the grid rather than draw the region’s power away from it.

Delivering for the community

The technology park is expected to support employment for around 750 people on site during peak construction and approximately 100 permanent roles once operational. Waste heat from the data centres can supply a district-heating network for the new village centre and homes, designed so it could be extended to the wider village in future.