Irish data center developer Red Admiral has received approval to construct a data center and solar farm on a 600-acre land parcel in Westmeath County, Ireland.

Westmeath County Council approved plans to build the campus on June 2.

The 250MW campus will consist of six 14,000 sqm (150,694 sq ft) data center buildings across 96 acres, and the solar farm, located east of the facility, is set to span 415 acres and include a battery energy storage system.

The campus’ solar farm will use fuel cells provided by SK ecoplant, which forms part of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group.

The campus will be built on land parcels situated west of the village of Rochfortbridge, and it will be bounded by the Monagh River to its north, Kiltotan and Collinstown to its south, Farthingstown to its east, and Gneevebane to its west.

Red Admiral has estimated that the campus would cost €1 billion ($1.16bn) to develop.

Reports of a 250MW facility first surfaced in November 2023, and plans for the facility were submitted by Red Admiral in December 2024.

There has been some opposition to the campus. 70 submissions were lodged against the proposal, citing concerns about the impact of the data center on the environment, the suitability of a data center in a rural environment, the strain on the Irish grid, and more.

Red Admiral is a subsidiary of Irish energy firm Lumcloon Energy. The latter already has a presence in Rochfortbridge, as evidenced by its plans to develop a 65MW battery storage facility and a 275MW natural gas power plant.

Ireland’s data center energy woes have been particularly acute. The percentage of Ireland’s metered energy consumed by data centers currently hovers at around 20 percent, according to a report released by the country’s Central Statistics Office in June 2025.

This has led to fierce backlash against data centers. In July 2025, Ireland’s National Trust appealed against planning permission granted to a data center in County Louth, and in May, bestselling author Sally Rooney and others contested Mayo County Council’s decision to grant permission to Avaio for a new data center.