Facebook breaks ground at Clonee site

The new Facebook data centre at Clonee will be as big as 14 Aviva stadiums, it was confirmed today.

Construction began on the company’s newest data centre at Clonee this morning with a ground breaking ceremony performed by Acting Minister for Skills, Damien English.
Development of a second building at the same site was also confirmed, bringing the total size of the facility to 621,000sq feet.
The €200 million project is expected to support about 2,000 jobs during the construction phase. Performing the ground breaking ceremony with the Minister was Tom Furlong, Vice President of Infrastructure at Facebook, Jackie Maguire, CEO Meath County Council, Brian Fitzgerald, Chairman Meath County Council and Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA.
The facility, Facebook’s first data centre in Ireland and second in Europe, will become part of the infrastructure that enables billions of people to connect with the people worldwide connect with each other.
The company also announced that the new data centre, as well as its international headquarters in Dublin, will be supplied with 100 per cent renewable wind energy from Brookfield Renewable’s Irish operations.  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.
Tom Furlong, VP 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 per cent renewable wind energy.”
“The new facility will be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data centres in the world thanks to its cutting-edge Open Compute technology and use of 100 per cent renewable wind energy. The centre will be a crucial part of the infrastructure that helps Facebook connect billions of people around the world.”
Minister English said: “The Government’s policy of making Ireland an attractive location for investment by the multinational ICT sector had delivered major projects amongst them this new Facebook facility.
“I welcome Facebook’s further commitment to Ireland with their investment in this Meath facility and I wish Facebook and their employees further success in the future. “
Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council Cllr. Brian Fitzgerald said 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.
Chief Executive, Jackie Maguire said the development sends out a clear message to the business community in Ireland and abroad that Meath is open for business.