emand for data centres is ex-

periencing exponential growth.

Even in the worst case sce-

nario, McKinsey & Company pre-

dicts a 20 per cent growth through

2030. In its report, ‘Beyond com-

pute: Infrastructure that powers and

cools AI data centers’, Global data

centre demand is expected to grow at

a CAGR of 22 per cent and reach

220 GW by 2030 – nearly six times

larger than demand in 2020.

One potential bottleneck to this

growth, however, is the power need-

ed to run them. According to the In-

ternational Energy Agency (IEA),

electricity consumption from data

centres is estimated to amount to

around 415 TWh, or about 1.5 per

cent of global electricity consump-

tion in 2024. It has grown at 12 per

cent per year over the last ve years,

and is predicted to double to reach

around 945 TWh by 2030 in the

IEA’s ‘Base Case’, representing just

under 3 per cent of total global elec-

tricity consumption in 2030.

In an effort to meet this power de-

mand, data centre developers and

operators have been scrambling to

nd ways of meeting the electricity

needs of their power-hungry installa-

tions. While some are eyeing future

technologies such as small modular

reactors, most are turning to renew-

ables, primarily, or building gas tur-

bine-based power plants to address

their immediate needs. Yet the main

constraint is grid connection – a

problem that is particularly acute in

Europe.

During a recent press visit to Coun-

ty Dublin, Ireland, journalists had the

opportunity to look at a project that

offers a solution to the challenge.

Last month Pure Data Centres

Group (Pure DC), the hyperscale

cloud and AI data centre developer

and operator, together with AVK, a

provider of prime, standby and dis-

patchable power solutions for data

centres and AI infrastructure, an-

nounced the launch of Europes rst,

large-scale, on-site microgrid for a

data centre.

Located at the new Pure DC cam-

pus in Fingal, near Dublin city, the

microgrid will operate in island

mode as a fully independent electric-

ity supply system, capable of gener-

ating, storing and managing its own

power.

Essentially, it provides the opportu-

nity for dispatchable capacity to sup-

port data centre operations during

initial development phases, prior to

full integration with the national

electricity system as grid connection

capacity becomes available. Over

time, the campus is intended to oper-

ate as part of a hybrid energy cong-

uration, combining grid-supplied

electricity with on-site infrastructure

designed to enhance exibility, resil-

ience and system stability.

Commenting on the installation,

Pure Data Centre’s newly appointed

CEO, Gary Wojtaszek, said: “What’s

unique about this facility is that it’s

self-powered… They had a chal-

lenge – they couldn’t get connected

to the grid, [so] they built up a

self-generation facility. We’ve

solved a challenge the company has

been suffering with for years...

we’ve also provided a solution that

doesn’t consume a lot of water like

the older data centres did. And there

are also environmental solutions that

help you get to zero carbon.”

The microgrid system, which will

represent about a $1.5 billion invest-

ment when complete, has a total ca-

pacity of 110 MW across three inter-

connected Energy Centres (EC1,

EC2, EC3 at 30 MW each) plus a 20

MW Battery Energy Storage (BESS)

system. It serves a campus with an

operational load that currently stands

at 54 MW but is designed to scale to

90 MW. This means it also has the

potential to help stabilise the grid

when excess power is available.

The idea for the project was rst

hatched about seven years ago –

even before grid constraints became

an issue.

Ben Pritchard, AVK, recalled: “In

2019 data centres were built using a

very well-trodden path… but differ-

ent thinking had to be applied when

Pure Data Centre came to us and

said, we have this site in Dublin that

may never get a grid connection.

nd it was the rst time we saw that

waiting wasn’t an option; so we had

to think outside the box.”

The need for 99.999 per cent, or

ve nines, availability called for

AV K t o a d d “ a n o t h e r l a y e r ” o f t e c h -

nology to conventional solutions.

Pritchard added: “You know you

need a system of, say, 100 MW but

the ramp rate for the load is also

completely undened. o, you have

to design the system with a exibili-

ty that allows for seeing maybe only

  for the rst six months, which

is very different to having an engine

that needs to run at full capacity.”

Drawing on its own expertise in

powering data centres with Pure

Data Centres’ expertise of the pro-

cess, the companies came up with an

integrated architecture that uses a

“tapestry of technologies”. A pilot 10

MW (max. output capacity) microg-

rid system was subsequently de-

signed and installed, and has been

running since 2024.

Pritchard noted: “Some see micro-

grids as a bridging solution but it’s

so much more than that. When we

rst started the conversation with

Pure [Data Centres], we didn’t know

whether there would ever be a grid

connection. So, we went into this de-

signing a scheme that wasn’t there

just for ve years to bridge a gap be-

cause at the time there was no visi-

bility on when a grid would come…

so we went into designing a scheme

that would be able to run for the

foreseeable lifetime of the facility.

“What we are experiencing with

this system is that we’ve built some-

thing that removes demand from the

grid; but also, when that system gets

grid connected, it allows that infra-

structure to participate in grid activi-

ty its the rst time in Europe we

see data centres actually being a solu-

tion to the challenges of the energy

transition and mass grid demand.”

This “temporary” microgrid –

which is seen as the “blueprint” in

terms of performance parameters

and design considerations for how

microgrids will work in the future –

forms the basis for the new larger

installation. It uses a mix of several

2.5 MW MTU Rolls-Royce gas and

diesel engines, some of which can

run on hydrotreated vegetable oil

(HVO) when the gas engines or gas

network fail, and a 2 x 5 MW

BESS.

“This is ‘temporary’ in the fact that

it will one day be decommissioned,”

said Pritchard. “But everything that

we have designed into this scheme is

as complex as the larger scheme.”

Construction of the new scheme is

at an advanced stage. EC1 and EC2

are expected to be fully operational

around September 2026 and will be

followed by EC3 in 2027.

The larger installation is based on

9.8 MW Wärtsilä dual fuel engines –

six already installed (for EC1 and

EC2), with three more to come in the

future (for EC3). These medium

speed engines will run on natural gas

with 1 per cent HVO pilot fuel,

ready to switch to run 100 per cent

on the 72 hours’ worth of HVO bio-

fuel that is primarily kept for back-

up. The microgrid will also incorpo-

rate the existing pilot 10 MW BESS

alongside a new 10 MW BESS.

Apart from the need to reduce the

overall number of engines that

would be needed for the larger facili-

ty, and thereby the footprint, there

were other important drivers behind

the engine selection.

Bob Downing, VP Sales, Energy

Solutions at AVK, explained: “The

medium speed engines are bigger

power blocks, easier to control and

much more adaptable with load

changes. Also, the dual fuel capabili-

ty meets Ireland’s Secondary Fuel

Obligation for microgrids. So, you

have to be able to switch from natu-

ral gas to HVO.”

The obligation is specic to Ire-

land, and Downing points out that

technology choice depends on the

country. With the ability to provide

solutions based on fuel cells medium

speed and high speed engines, as

well as gas turbines, Downing says

the company is targeting microgrid

installations in a number of coun-

tries. With such systems already tak-

ing root in the US, this be-

hind-the-meter solution will no

doubt gain popularity elsewhere.

“We are talking to Germany, the

Netherlands, UK, more in Ireland,

and there’s also a lot of interest in

Spain and Portugal at the moment,”

said Downing.

And as the world continues to em-

brace renewables and the demand

for electricity continues to grow,

with data centres identied as a

strong driver, the developments at

Fingal look set to offer a blueprint

for data centre developers right

across Europe and beyond.

During a recent press visit to County Dublin, Ireland, journalists had the opportunity to look at a project that offers a

solution to the delays data centre developers are facing in bringing power to their facilities. Junior Isles

Powering data centres: a

blueprint for Europe

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - APRIL 2026

Technology Focus

Artist impression of the data

centre near Dublin, where

construction is well underway