Work has been completed on a data centre in Dublin that is not connected to the national electricity grid and instead runs off its own on-site power plant.
The microgrid system is currently fuelled by natural gas but it is capable of using more sustainable fuel sources such as biomethane and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
The data centre is operated by Pure Data Centres Group and is located in west Dublin.
"This microgrid is unique and is the first in Europe," said Pure Data Centre's Executive Chairman and interim CEO Gary Wojtaszek.
"It's a self-generated data centre that relies on its own power generation and fuel," he said.
"The master plan is to deliver 110 megawatts of data centre capacity, and that's enough energy to basically power 100,000 homes," Mr Wojtaszek said.
The microgrid was developed by power solution company AVK.
"While several microgrids are already in operation in the US, until today there were none of these deployments in Europe," said CEO AVK Ben Pritchard.
"This project demonstrates how carefully designed onsite energy infrastructure can complement national energy planning frameworks," Mr Pritchard said.
Watch: RTÉ Work & Technology Correspondent Brian O'Donovan on Dublin data centre
Data centres accounted for 22% of electricity usage in Ireland in 2024, up from just 5% in 2015.
It is estimated that the consumption level will grow to almost a third of the national electricity demand by 2030.
Friends of the Earth Ireland has called for a moratorium on new data centres.
Its CEO Deirdre Duffy has expressed concerns about the fact that this new microgrid data centre relies on gas.
"That means more fossil fuel lock-in here in Ireland," Ms Duffy said.
"When we see what is going on with the conflict in the Middle East right now, more gas demand in Ireland does not equate to energy security," she said.
"Geopolitical conflict is increasing energy costs in Ireland and it is causing us to be more at risk," Ms Duffy added.
"We think that any new data centre or any new gas lock-in facility is really not good news for energy security or energy prices for consumers here in Ireland," she said.
In January, the Government published a Large Energy Action Plan aimed at enabling the further development of energy-intensive facilities, including data centres.
It followed the lifting of an effective moratorium on new data centre connections.
In December, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities announced that data centres could be built where they meet at least 80% of their annual energy demand through new renewable electricity sources.
