Irish Planners Clear Path for New Dublin Data Center

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Irish planners have overruled objections to a US$518 million plan to build a data center at the site of Energia's power stations at Huntstown in County Dublin.

The planning authority, An Bord Pleanala, has greenlit the planned construction of two data center buildings on 13.3 hectares of land adjacent to the power station. The project, which had originally been approved by Fingal County Council in 2022, was appealed by environmental agency An Taisce. The three-story structures, known as Buildings A and B, will have a gross floor area of about 37,647 square metres (400,000 square feet) each. Energia has partnered with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) on the project. Industrial Info is tracking four related projects with an investment value of more than US$560 million. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

"The Board acknowledged the Inspector's reason that there is limited capacity available for further data centre development in the short-term, pending upgrades to the electricity infrastructure and the connection of more renewables," An Bord Pleanala stated in its final decision. "The Board considered the responses of the applicant to each of the principles set down as guidance for decision makers in the Government Statement and concluded that the availability of a grid connection, the connection agreement with EirGrid, the Corporate Purchase Power Agreement and the ability to manage electricity demand, demonstrated that the proposed data centre, albeit located in a constrained region, would meet the principle requirements including renewables additionality, and grid capacity and efficiency set down in the Government Statement." It added: "The National, regional and local policy clearly sets out support in principle for the development of data centers. The Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy, July 2022, identifies data centers as core infrastructure and enablers of a technology rich innovative economy and of significant importance from a national and international perspective."

In March, Microsoft signed two corporate power purchase agreements (PPA) with Energia to supply renewable energy as part of its sustainable development of data centers. The 25-megawatt (MW) windfarms, currently under development, are the Ballylongford windfarm in County Clare and Crossmore windfarm in County Kerry. The companies signed a similar deal in November 2022.

The decision comes at a time when Ireland's government has imposed a moratorium on the development of new data centers in the greater Dublin area due to increased pressure on the electricity grid. Last September, Google's (Mountain View, California) plans for a third Irish data center in nearby Dublin were blocked by the local council, which cited existing insufficient capacity in the electricity grid and the lack of significant onsite renewable energy to power the data center. For additional information, see September 9, 2024, article - Plug Pulled on Google's Irish Data Center Plans. Ireland has more than 80 data centers which account for over a fifth of electricity demand. 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).