Delays Threaten $1 Billion Data Center Project in Ireland

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The developer behind a US$1 billion data center in County Clare in the west of Ireland has warned that ongoing grid connection issues are putting the project at risk.

The planned 200-megawatt (MW) project, which was granted permission last April by state planning authority An Bord Pleanala, has already been delayed by a High Court judicial review challenge by opponents of the project. The aim is to build a data center campus near Tulla, comprising six data halls covering 145 acres, or 1.3 million square feet, with a capacity of slightly more than 33 MW each. Tom McNamara, chief executive officer of developer Art Data Centres Limited, has expressed "serious frustration" with state-owned transmission operator EirGrid over repeated delays to granting the necessary grid connection clearance. EirGrid refused to comment on the issue to the Irish Examiner newspaper, but it has been confirmed that Ennis has the necessary grid capacity to support the project. The company has applied for an 83-megavolt-amperes (MVA) connection to the Ennis Substation.

Art Data Centres has written to the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke to intervene in order to get the project started. McNamara said: "We have a project of national importance. Almost all legal, technical, and environmental requirements are met. Yet after eight years of effort, the project is being put at risk due to bureaucratic inertia. I am writing to the Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke, and relevant Cabinet colleagues to intervene urgently to ensure the project's grid connection proceeds." He argued that the project is necessary to attract investment in artificial intelligence and support local jobs, adding: "Delay is not a neutral act - it actively damages Ireland's international reputation." Industrial Info is tracking 13 projects associated with the Ennis data center project, worth more than US$1 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

McNamara's "urgent" call for action came just weeks after Burke announced government approval to accelerate the development of a new "whole-of-government" Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, alongside a suite of immediate measures designed to bolster business resilience and support competitiveness. Targeted measures expected by next month will focus on key areas, including enhancing international trade promotion support for firms facing disruption, addressing business costs through regulatory adjustments and targeted initiatives, and improving energy security and infrastructure delivery. On the issue of data centers, the government stated: "Steps will be taken to provide policy certainty regarding data centers, publish plans for connecting large energy users to the grid, foster collaboration between government and industry on offshore renewable energy development, accelerate the deployment of critical electricity grid infrastructure, and explore options for development routes to market for zones B, C and D in South Coast DMAP to provide pathway for future offshore wind energy to meet growing electricity demand."

On-site, Art Data Centres will develop a 120-MW gas-powered energy centre, which will eventually be transitioned to run on biogas and hydrogen. The plant will not only cover most of the data center's power needs but, as a condition attached to all data center grid connection permits, also supply power back to the grid on demand in the event of energy supply issues. There will also be a vertical farm, powered by waste heat from the data centers via a district heating system as well as a 33-MW backup power system run on diesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Since 2022, the Irish Government's Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy "identifies data centers as core infrastructure and enablers of a technology rich innovative economy and of significant importance from a national and international perspective." The key issue, however, remains access to enough power. Ireland has more than 80 data centers that account for more than a fifth of electricity demand. The government has been forced to impose a moratorium on the development of new data centers in the Greater Dublin area due to increased pressure on the electricity grid. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$7 billion worth of Irish data center-related projects. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).