Echelon launches Ireland’s first Green Energy Park

Author: Joe Peck

Echelon Data Centres, a developer and operator of large-scale data centre infrastructure, has announced that its DUB20 campus in Arklow, Co Wicklow, will become Ireland’s first Green Energy Park, aligned with the Irish Government’s Large Energy Users Action Plan (LEAP).

Green Energy Parks are defined by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment as developments that co-locate energy-intensive facilities, such as data centres, with renewable energy generation. They are designed to operate primarily on renewable power, supported by energy storage or backup generation, while reducing reliance on the national grid.

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment, comments, “The Large Energy Users Action Plan sets out a clear pathway for how energy-intensive industries can develop in a way that strengthens Ireland’s grid, accelerates renewable deployment, and supports our climate ambitions.

“The Green Energy Park being developed at DUB20 is an important example of that model in action: co-locating data infrastructure with offshore wind, onsite solar, battery storage, and grid-supporting capacity. This is exactly the kind of forward-planned, sustainable development we want to see delivered under LEAP.”

Integrating renewables with data centre infrastructure

The DUB20 campus is being developed in line with the LEAP framework and will integrate several energy systems.

Plans include a 220kV substation developed with SSE Renewables, enabling access to offshore wind energy from the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 project. Onsite solar PV is also planned, with expected generation exceeding 6,000MWh per year.

The site will incorporate battery energy storage systems (BESS) and energy centres, including infrastructure capable of exporting power back to the grid during periods of low renewable output. Hydrotreated vegetable oil will be used to reduce emissions from onsite generation.

The DUB20 campus forms part of Echelon’s wider investment in data centre developments in Wicklow and is located on a former industrial site at the Avoca River Business Park. Construction is underway, with completion expected by 2028.

An economic impact assessment by KPMG indicates that the DUB20 and DUB30 developments could generate up to €7.5 billion (£6.4 billion) in economic output during construction, and €801 million (£693 million) annually once operational.

Graeme McWilliams, Co-Founder of Echelon Data Centres, says, “The establishment of Ireland’s first Green Energy Park at DUB20 demonstrates how large-scale digital infrastructure can be developed responsibly and in lockstep with national climate and energy policy.

“By co-locating data centre capacity with offshore wind, onsite solar, and grid-supporting infrastructure, we are delivering the exact model envisioned under the Government’s LEAP framework – cutting emissions, reinforcing energy security, and supporting regional economic growth.”