Facebook Is Doubling The Size Of Its Irish Data Centre

Ben Sullivan,

Facebook’s County Meath data centre gets extension approval as work starts on 621,000 sq ft site

Facebook is expanding its planned data centre in County Meath, Ireland, before construction has even started.

The social network now plans to add a second building to the site, its second data centre in Europe, after it was granted permission to build the extension this week by the local council.

14 Aviva Stadiums

The new building will bring the size of Facebook’s data centre to 621,000 sq ft, or, the size of eight Aviva stadiums – the home of Ireland’s national football and rugby teams in Dublin.

The data centre, located near the town of Clonee, is Facebook’s first in Ireland. The social network currently operates just one data centre in Europe, situated in Luleå, Sweden.

Tom Furlong, vice president of Infrastructure at Facebook, said:  “We’re thrilled to have found a home in Clonee and begin building our new data centre as we continue to expand our infrastructure in Ireland.

“Everything here has been as advertised — from the strong pool of talent for construction and operations staff; to the great set of community partners who have helped us move forward quickly; to the opportunity to power our facility with 100 percent renewable wind energy.”

*** NO REPRODUCTION FEE *** MEATH : 6/4/2016 : Today, Facebook is pleased to announce that construction began on the company's newest data centre at Clonee, County Meath. Development of a second building at the same site was also confirmed, bringing the total size of the facility to 621,000sq ft – the equivalent of 14 Aviva stadiums. The facility, Facebook’s first in Ireland and second in Europe, will become part of the infrastructure that enables billions of people to connect with the people and things they care about on Facebook and across its family of apps and services. Facebook is also pleased to announce that the new data centre, as well as its international headquarters in Dublin, will be supplied with 100% renewable wind energy from BrookfieldRenewable’s Irish operations. Brookfield owns and operates a portfolio of renewable wind energy projects across Ireland totaling 465 MW and all renewable wind energy supplying Facebook’s facilities in Ireland is located in Ireland. Ireland has been home to Facebook’s international headquarters since 2009 and the facility at Clonee continues Facebook’s significant investment in the country and in Europe. The company recently announced the creation of a further 200 jobs in Dublin in 2016, to add to the 1,300 employees it currently has. Pictured at the ground-breaking ceremony of Facebook newest data centre at Clonee were Brian Fitzgerald, Chairman Meath County Council, Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English T.D, Tom Furlong, VP of Infrastructure at Facebook, Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA and Jackie Maguire, CEO Meath County Council. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.
Ground-breaking ceremony: Brian Fitzgerald, Chairman Meath County Council, Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English T.D, Tom Furlong, VP of Infrastructure at Facebook, Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA and Jackie Maguire, CEO Meath County Council. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.

Renewable wind energy will be sourced from BrookfieldRenewable’s Irish operations. Brookfield owns and operates a portfolio of renewable wind energy projects across Ireland totaling 465 MW and all renewable wind energy supplying Facebook’s facilities in Ireland is located in Ireland, claims the company.

Facebook said that the build will create 2,000 construction jobs, with 150 long-term jobs once the data centre is up and running – by no later than 2018.

Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council Cllr. Brian Fitzgerald said that this morning’s ground-breaking ceremony was another positive step towards the building of the data centre.

“This is a very important project for Ireland, for Meath and particularly for the community in Clonee, having an internationally recognised company like Facebook in our county sends out a great message that Meath is an attractive place to invest in and to do business.”

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