Apple plans €850m centre in west of Ireland

Apple is building an €850m data centre in the west of Ireland to power its online services including the iTunes Store, Maps, and Siri.

The operation at Athenry, Co Galway, and another at Viborg in Denmark, represent the technology giant’s biggest project in Europe to date.

It is expected that the Irish facility, to be run on renewable energy, will create 300 jobs during its multiple phases of construction.

The 166,000 sq m operation is planned to be up and running by 2017.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: “This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet.”

The project will involve recovering land and restoring native trees to Derrydonnell Forest in Athenry. An outdoor education space will be built for local schools, as well as a walking trail for the community, Apple said.

The plant will help power online services including the iTunes Store, the App Store, iMessage, Maps, and Siri for customers across Europe.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was delighted with the investment in Ireland. “It is a very significant investment in the west of Ireland and is fantastic news for Athenry with significant knock-on benefits for the region,” he said.

Apple already employs more than 3,000 people in Ireland, mainly at its European headquarters in Cork.

Microsoft and Google are among other tech giants with data centres in the country, where the predictable climate is seen as an asset in lowering cooling costs for the technology involved.

“This is an important strategic investment with significant local economic benefits,” said Martin Shanahan, head of the IDA.

“Ireland has for several years successfully attracted data centre investments from major corporates.”

* Additional reporting by Bloomberg