The Irish planning body An Coimisiun Pleanala has approved two data centers, overruling the local council’s refusal to give the facilities planning permission.

In 2023, the Irish arm of American data center operator EdgeConneX lodged an appeal against the South Dublin County Council’s decision to reject a proposal for two adjoining data centers on Newcastle Road in the village of Lucan, Dublin. The facilities were proposed as two single-story facilities covering a total floor space of 15,000 sqm (161,500 sq ft) along with 24 backup diesel generators.

An Coimisiun Pleanala granted conditional permission for the project on July 31, upholding EdgeConneX’s appeal but stipulating that the generators needed to be powered by a renewable fuel source.

The rationale for the initial rejection was based on claims of insufficient capacity and that EdgeConneX did not have a fixed connection agreement in place. Additional concerns surrounded the lack of on-site renewable energy and power purchase agreements in the country.

The reasons for the planning body’s decision included EdgeConneX’s fixed connection agreement to the grid, meaning that the facilities would not be an “islanded” development dependent on onsite energy generation; the incorporation of energy efficiency measures; engagement with PPAs; and demonstration of sufficient capacity within the water, wastewater, and electricity network.

Public awareness of and opposition to data centers in Ireland has grown in lockstep with the industry’s presence in the country. Power has become a particularly important issue – data centers consumed about 21 percent of total metered electricity in 2023 – and is often cited in appeals against proposed data center projects, of which there are many.

In April, Vantage Data Centers lost an appeal for a two-story data center project in New Nangor Road, Dublin; in May, bestselling author Sally Rooney appealed against a proposed two-story, 36MW facility in County Mayo; and AWS is currently fighting an appeal for a trio of facilities that would be located in Fingal County.