EMC² cuts energy use by 20% after ‘radical’ retrofit
EMC², which employs 1,650 people at its Ovens site, undertook a full retrofit project to implement energy saving technologies at the information technology and data centre site, using free cooling technology systems.
The €2.5 million project, which was designed and managed by consulting engineering company Arup, will achieve annual electricity savings of 13 million kilowatt hours and an annual carbon emission reduction of 7,000 tonnes.
Engineering solutions were designed by Arup for three data centres, 10 ambient laboratories and four thermocycling test labs at the Ballincollig facility.
According to Arup the engineering design, equipment procurement and tender process were completed in five weeks and the entire project including construction and commissioning took just 17 weeks.
The project received SEAI Energy Efficiency retrofit fund assistance of €500,000.
EMC² vice president Bob Savage described it as a “very significant project”.
“It makes a major contribution to EMC’s cost competitiveness and supports our environmental strategy”, Mr Savage said.
Arup project manager Sean Twohig described the EMC² facility project as very significant in terms of its design, scale, implementation and outcomes.
“It is one of the most radical incorporations of energy-saving technologies at a hi-tech facility in Ireland and demonstrates the possibilities for retrofitting major industrial projects while these remain live.”
