Planning permission granted for Echelon's €500m data centre in Co Wicklow
Planning permission has been granted for a new facility by Echelon Data Centres in Arklow, Co Wicklow as part of the firm's €500m investment.
The recently launched Dublin-based company plans to build a 484,000sqft centre which will create 540 jobs.
450 people will be employed in the construction of the facility while 90 operational positions will be made available in the business.
The development will be located on the former Irish Fertilisers Industries site in Avoca Business Park, next to the M11.
Echelon Data Centres is a data centre owner, developer and operator which builds facilities across Europe for data processing and storage solutions.
The data centre, which will have a capacity of up to 100MW, will serve 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 the company intends 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," he said.
“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 €1bn, 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 said.
