Google May Expand Dublin Data Center Footprint

google-networking

Rows of networking equipment inside a Google data center. The company has filed plans to expand its data center campus outside Dublin, Ireland. (Photo for Google by Connie Zhou)

Google is planning to expand its data center footprint in Dublin, Ireland with a new $200 million facility, according to reports in the Irish press. The project continues the building boom in the western outskirts of Dublin, reinforcing the city's status as a key infrastructure hub for the world's cloud computing infrastructure.

The giant search company may invest up to €150m ($205 million U.S.) in a massive new data center, according to The Independent, which said Google has filed planning documents with local officials. The project will create up to 300 construction jobs over a year or more and up to 60 new full-time jobs once it is operational.

"The data centre that we built in Dublin in 2012 has worked well for us and created around 30 full-time jobs," a Google spokesperson told the paper. "We're now considering whether to expand our operations, and so we're submitting a planning application. This will ensure that we've taken into account local opinion and rules, if we do decide to build in the future."

In December, Microsoft announced plans for a $230 million expansion of its existing cloud hub in Dublin, where it has now invested more than $806 million (€594 million). Microsoft is several miles down the road from Google's Dublin campus in Profile Park, where it completed a $100 million expansion in 2012.

Dublin is unique amongst major European data center hubs in that its appeal is based on climate, rather than connectivity. While the thriving data center communities in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are built atop network intersections in key business cities, Dublin has become one of the world’s favored locations for free cooling – the use of fresh air to cool servers. It is a prime example of how free cooling is giving rise to clusters of energy-efficient facilities in cool climates.