Echelon to build Ireland's first green energy park
Tue, 27th Oct 2026 (Today)
Echelon Data Centres will establish a Green Energy Park at its DUB20 campus in Arklow, County Wicklow. It says the project will be Ireland's first development of its kind under the Government's Large Energy Users Action Plan.
The scheme will combine Echelon's planned DUB20 data centre with a new shared 220kV electricity substation, onsite solar generation, battery storage and other energy infrastructure designed to support the grid. The substation will connect both the data centre and SSE's 800MW Arklow Bank Wind Park 2 offshore wind project to the national grid.
Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien marked the start of the project at the Arklow site. Under the Government's framework, Green Energy Parks are intended to bring together large electricity users and renewable generation, while reducing dependence on the grid and supporting wider energy system benefits.
LEAP model
The Government's Large Energy Users Action Plan sets out a route for projects that link energy-intensive developments with renewable supply, storage and flexible grid arrangements. Measures in the plan include hybrid or flexible grid connections, private wire links and corporate power purchase agreements tied to offshore wind generation.
Echelon says the Arklow development has been designed to align with that approach. The DUB20 campus will sit close to the grid connection point for the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 project, which is in development, and will share grid infrastructure through the new substation.
The company also plans solar photovoltaic generation on the site. In addition, the campus will include two onsite energy centres, one of which will be able to export electricity to the national grid during periods of low renewable output.
According to Echelon, this would create the largest grid-supporting asset in Ireland that is not a dedicated power station. The project will also include battery energy storage systems and use hydrotreated vegetable oil to cut emissions from onsite generation.
"The Government's Large Energy Users Action Plan set 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 by Echelon at DUB20 is an important example of that model in action, co-locating data centre infrastructure with onsite solar, battery storage and grid-supporting capacity. This is exactly the kind of forward-planned, sustainable development the Government wants to see delivered under LEAP," said Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.
Wicklow investment
The DUB20 campus forms part of Echelon's wider €4.2 billion investment in its DUB20 and DUB30 facilities in Wicklow. The sites are on the former Irish Fertilisers Industries land at Avoca River Business Park in Arklow.
Echelon expects DUB20 to be completed by 2028. It describes the project as a regeneration scheme for the area and says it would make Arklow the first live example in Ireland of a Green Energy Park developed in line with Government policy.
An economic impact assessment by KPMG found that the DUB20 and DUB30 campuses could generate up to €7.5 billion in economic output during construction and €801 million a year once operational. The assessment also said every €1 invested could produce €1.60 in wider economic activity, while supporting thousands of jobs during construction and operation.
Echelon, founded in Dublin in 2017, develops, owns and operates large data centre campuses across Europe. It says it has a pipeline of 1.2GW of capacity across Ireland, the UK, Spain and Italy.
"Creating 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," said Graeme McWilliams, Chief Strategy Officer at Echelon Data Centres.