Kildare County Council has given the green light to a €3 billion “next generation” data centre campus despite calls by environmentalists to refuse planning due mainly to the increased greenhouse gas emissions it will produce.
In the decision, the Council has granted planning to multimillionaire engineering entrepreneur and co-owner of Monaghan-based forklift manufacturer Combilift, Robert Moffett’s Herbata Ltd’s plans for the six data centre campus for a site next to the M7 motorway and business park at Naas, Co Kildare.
Underlining the scale of the proposal, the Council is requiring that the applicants pay €8.3m to the local authority in planning development contributions in one of 77 conditions attached to the permission.
Over a 20 year period, the applicants have estimated that the project will produce 11.6m tonnes of CO2 describing the climate impact as not significant.
This is in contrast to the views of An Taisce, Friends of the Earth Ireland and Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) which have all called on the Council to refuse planning permission due to the negative climate impacts of the development.
The applicants state that the data centre will not be reliant upon the existing electricity generation and that 50% of the data centres’ power requirements will be provided through renewable energy via Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) and on-site solar panels.
In reaching its decision, the Council stated that the application has been assessed in relation to national, regional and local policies including those related to climate action.
The council stated in making its decision it had regard to the provisions of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2021; the Climate Action Plan 2025; the principles contained in the Government Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy and the Data Centre land use zoning for the site.
The Council’s planner’s report recommending that planning permission be granted stated that there are still some outstanding issues that would require further revision.
The planners state that this includes the source of electricity to power and support the data centre site.
As a result, the council has imposed a condition that prior to the commencement of the development that the applicant demonstrates evidence of a formal grid connection with Eirgrid to cover the full electrical load of the development through all phases of the development.
In another condition attached to the permission, the applicants must provide details of CCPA that the developer has entered into.
The case is already certainly due to go before An Coimisiún Pleanála via third party appeals due to the strength of opposition against the proposal from An Taisce, FIE and Friends of the Earth Ireland.
On behalf of Friends of the Earth Ireland, Campaigns Director Jerry Mac Evilly told the Council last month that “the central message of this submission is that the applicant has not clearly or sufficiently addressed significant emissions impacts of the six gas-powered data centres. We therefore call for the application to be rejected”.
On behalf of An Taisce, Senior Planning and Environmental Policy Officer Phoebe Duvall has told the council that to grant permission “would be in contravention of Ireland’s legally binding emissions reduction obligations and contrary to the national climate objective”.
In a submission on behalf of County Kildare Chamber, its CEO Sinead Ronan has told the council that “this project represents a significant and timely investment in Naas and the wider Kildare region, delivering multiple economic, environmental and infrastructural benefits”.
Ms Ronan states that “this proposal presents a forward-looking opportunity to enhance the local economy, support employment and position Kildare as a leader in sustainable digital infrastructure. The project also has a clear alignment to planning policy, climate goals and heritage protection”.
On lodging the plans last year, a spokesman for Herbata stated that at the time that its next generation data centre campus will, uniquely, not depend on the national grid for power.
The company stated that the project “is designed to minimise energy consumption and promote decarbonisation”.
A spokesman for Herbata said today: “We are very pleased with the decision by Kildare County Council to grant planning permission for Herbata’s planned Data Centre Campus’.
“This decision will facilitate a new approach to Data Centre development in Ireland, one that is leading edge and which will not depend on the national grid for power,” he said.
“It is also a milestone development in the data centre world as it provides a clear path to zero emissions. This is an important development also in underpinning the ongoing growth of the IT and AI sector which is so important to the Irish economy,” he added.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
