Released May 05, 2025 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Planning permission has been granted for a 29,000-square-metre data center for artificial intelligence (AI) and general data services in County Mayo in the west of Ireland.
Mayo's local council gave the project the construction green light, stating that it would be in keeping with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. The project was the focus of many objections from locals and celebrities that opposed it on a number of grounds, including electrical power demands. It will be located on a 66-acre site next to the existing Killala Business Park at Mullafarry and Tawnaghmore Upper in north Mayo. Once operational, the data centre facility will have an IT load of 36 megawatts (MW), requiring roughly 50 MW average electrical power to operate. It is being developed by Mayo Data Hub Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S. data center specialists Avaio Digital (Stamford, Connecticut). Industrial Info is tracking three associated projects worth more than US$350 million in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the reports.
"The announcement to grant planning permission for our County Mayo Data Hub campus is a welcome step in creating a new economic opportunity in the West of Ireland," Avaio stated to Midwest News. "The project, planned for the Killala Business Park, will create more than 300 jobs during construction and provide a basis for more sustainable development of this industrial site on an ongoing basis. The Mayo Data Hub will support AI and cloud development in the West and provide unique employment opportunities through planned partnerships with Irish universities, creating new data centre-focused curricula and supporting research in the uses of artificial intelligence across multiple sectors."
The company, which will also be building more than 37 MW of gas-fired backup power generation on site, expects to take advantage of local wind energy for the project. Its project outline highlighted that 171 MW of wind power is already in place in the Mayo region, with a further 274 MW of wind power in various stages of development today and a potential pipeline of more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of proposed projects in the region. Mayo is also the landfall for multiple subsea cables, and the Killala campus has a robust fiber network running through the region and, Avaio stated, "remains underserved in terms of existing and planned data center capacity."
The permit at Killala comes just weeks after the developers of a much larger, US$1 billion data center project in nearby County Clare on the west coast warned that ongoing delays to receiving a grid connection permit threatens to derail it. Art Data Centres (Dublin, Ireland), which is behind the 200-MW Ennis Data Center project that received planning permission in 2024, has called on the government to intervene in getting state-owned transmission operator EirGrid to grant the necessary grid connection clearance so that construction can begin. For additional information, see April 29, 2025, article - Delays Threaten $1 Billion Data Center Project in Ireland.
The government is fully behind the expansion of data centers in Ireland, but it is an increasingly contentious subject as the facilities currently account for 21% of electricity demand. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$7 billion worth of Irish data center-related projects. Subscribers 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).
Mayo's local council gave the project the construction green light, stating that it would be in keeping with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. The project was the focus of many objections from locals and celebrities that opposed it on a number of grounds, including electrical power demands. It will be located on a 66-acre site next to the existing Killala Business Park at Mullafarry and Tawnaghmore Upper in north Mayo. Once operational, the data centre facility will have an IT load of 36 megawatts (MW), requiring roughly 50 MW average electrical power to operate. It is being developed by Mayo Data Hub Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S. data center specialists Avaio Digital (Stamford, Connecticut). Industrial Info is tracking three associated projects worth more than US$350 million in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for the reports.
"The announcement to grant planning permission for our County Mayo Data Hub campus is a welcome step in creating a new economic opportunity in the West of Ireland," Avaio stated to Midwest News. "The project, planned for the Killala Business Park, will create more than 300 jobs during construction and provide a basis for more sustainable development of this industrial site on an ongoing basis. The Mayo Data Hub will support AI and cloud development in the West and provide unique employment opportunities through planned partnerships with Irish universities, creating new data centre-focused curricula and supporting research in the uses of artificial intelligence across multiple sectors."
The company, which will also be building more than 37 MW of gas-fired backup power generation on site, expects to take advantage of local wind energy for the project. Its project outline highlighted that 171 MW of wind power is already in place in the Mayo region, with a further 274 MW of wind power in various stages of development today and a potential pipeline of more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of proposed projects in the region. Mayo is also the landfall for multiple subsea cables, and the Killala campus has a robust fiber network running through the region and, Avaio stated, "remains underserved in terms of existing and planned data center capacity."
The permit at Killala comes just weeks after the developers of a much larger, US$1 billion data center project in nearby County Clare on the west coast warned that ongoing delays to receiving a grid connection permit threatens to derail it. Art Data Centres (Dublin, Ireland), which is behind the 200-MW Ennis Data Center project that received planning permission in 2024, has called on the government to intervene in getting state-owned transmission operator EirGrid to grant the necessary grid connection clearance so that construction can begin. For additional information, see April 29, 2025, article - Delays Threaten $1 Billion Data Center Project in Ireland.
The government is fully behind the expansion of data centers in Ireland, but it is an increasingly contentious subject as the facilities currently account for 21% of electricity demand. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$7 billion worth of Irish data center-related projects. Subscribers 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).
