Pure DC Unveils Dublin's Off-Grid Microgrid for Data Center
European developer Pure Data Centres Group has detailed what it says will be Europe’s first islanded (off-grid) microgrid to power a data center.
The facility in Dublin, Ireland, was completed in partnership with on-site power provider AVK. The 110-MW on-site microgrid is designed to support early-phase operational resiliency.
Eventually, the Dublin data center and microgrid campus are intended to operate as part of a hybrid energy configuration connected to grid power. For now it’s a one-of-a-kind islanded microgrid.
“The biggest barrier to deploying AI infrastructure in Europe today isn’t technology — it’s power,” Gary Wojtaszek, Executive Chairman and interim CEO of Pure DC, said in a statement. “This microgrid proves that even the most constrained markets can unlock new digital capacity, giving Ireland the opportunity to lead Europe’s next chapter of AI infrastructure. The future of AI infrastructure will be built where energy and compute come together — and that’s exactly what we’re building at Pure.”
Wojtaszek was named to that leadership role at Pure DC in an announcement earlier this week. He previously led data center developer CyrusOne from early growth to its acquisition by private equity firms KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners.
The combined heat and power (CHP) microgrid includes three interconnected energy centers, with each component capable of 30 MW of power. The first two are expected to be operational by the end of this year.
“This recognizes that power is now the new differentiator for data centres, and that energy has shifted from being a utility to a strategic asset – shaping the location, design, economics and competitiveness for operators,” AVK-SEG CEO Ben Pritchard said. “The first of many in Europe, this microgrid has the capability to revolutionize the data center power race as we know it – providing a complementary solution that will ease gridlock and pave the way for greater take-up of AI and cloud.”
Pure DC is also integrating a battery energy storage system to help manage load fluctuations and improve on-site operational efficiency. The batteries should support future renewable energy deployment in the project, the company noted.
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Rod Walton, Microgrid Knowledge Managing Editor
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I’ve spent the last 18 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.
I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 36-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.
Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.