County Kildare in Ireland has completed the construction of a government data center.

As reported by KFM Radio, the data center was completed in July 2025, with construction beginning in 2023.

The data center will be for government use, replacing several smaller data centers, and is located at the Backweston Campus in Kildare. It has been designed with sustainability in mind, and waste heat may be used at other buildings on the campus.

It will be connected to a future solar farm, enabling it to use renewable energy, and will also utilize free cooling technology.

Operations are set to commence in 2026 and will be led by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine on behalf of the State.

The facility spans 8,300 sqm (89,340 sq ft) and will house infrastructure used by State agencies, including the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána, and the Department of Social Protection.

Ireland’s Minister of State Emer Higgins said: “The Backweston shared Government Data Centre is a fantastic example of how NextGenerationEU funding is delivering real, tangible results. This complex build was completed on time and on budget, which is a testament to the skill and dedication of everyone involved.

“It will harness the latest and most efficient technologies to ensure that vital Government data is stored in a secure and energy-efficient way, meeting the Government’s technology and energy-saving requirements both now and into the future. This state-of-the-art facility will give State bodies the ICT infrastructure they need to work more efficiently, streamline processes, reduce duplication, and bring greater consistency to how public services are delivered.”

The facility was developed as part of the EU’s NextGenerationEU plan, which provides financial aid to Member States following the Covid-19 pandemic. Ireland received €1.15bn under the program.

According to a project page shared by the EU, the data center alone received €40m ($46.77m) in grant funding, with an estimated total cost of €57m ($66.65m). In 2023, reports suggest this grew to €80m ($93.55m).

Reports of plans for the data center first emerged in 2018.

Kildare is located to the west of Dublin, where most of Ireland’s data centers are located.

Data centers in Ireland currently consume an outsized percentage of its electricity, accounting for 21 percent of total metered electricity in 2023. As a result, the country’s grid operator EirGrid enacted a de facto moratorium on new data center builds in Dublin, which is expected to last until at least 2028.

In June 2025, it was reported that the Irish government was preparing legislation to make it easier for data centers and other large load users to power their facilities independently. Microsoft has said that it is moving its focus away from the country due to the current lack of power access.