Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that building work has begun on one of the company’s new data centres in Ireland.
The facility – which the tech mogul says will house some of the most complex machines ever created – is being built in Clonee, just outside Dublin.
It is Facebook’s sixth data centre and only the second in Europe, after Lulea in Sweden.
“Data centres deliver all of Facebook’s services to you. They’re some of the most complex machines ever created,” Mr Zuckerberg said in an online post.
The Clonee Data Centre will be run on 100% renewable energy and it will be naturally cooled by air from outside – with a special filtration system used to remove salt from the air due to its proximity to the Irish Sea.
“We’re glad to be investing in Ireland, to become a part of the Clonee community, and to continue building the massive infrastructure that connects our global community,” Mr Zuckerberg said.
About 2,000 people will be employed during the different construction phases, and dozens of people will be employed at the facility on a permanent basis when it opens in 2018.
The data centre is being built on a 220 acre site at a reported cost of 200m euro.