Equinix: Equinix and the plan for a district heating scheme in Blanchardstown, Dublin

Equinix has announced its involvement in a new district heating system project in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The data center company is teaming up with Codema, the Dublin energy agency, which will begin by carrying out a feasibility study. The project will reportedly be based around Equinix's DB5, a 19MW facility currently under construction based at Clyde House in Blanchardstown. If plans go ahead, insulated underground pipes will be laid from the facility and run to a hospital, university, and local aquatics center in the nearby area, providing them with waste heat.

This has been presented as an example of how the circular economy can help address some of the concerns around new data center builds in Ireland and how the country could decarbonize heating and lessen reliance on fossil fuels. That said, there's significant work ahead to transform the energy landscape, and introduce more district heating systems.
 

Commenting on the project, Donna Gartland, CEO, Codema, said: "Codema's mission is to lead the low-carbon transition in Dublin, and one of the ways we have been successfully doing this is by identifying and implementing solutions to help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We have enough waste and renewable heat available in Dublin to completely move all buildings away from fossil fuel heating, and working with progressive and ambitious industry stakeholders like Equinix enables us to bring these district heating projects to reality."

Meanwhile, Maurice Mortell, Equinix's Sustainability Lead in EMEA and Managing Director for Ireland, said: "Our partnership with Codema will help us to explore new ways in which we can not only work towards our own decarbonization, but also benefit the community in which we operate and contribute to the circular economy."