South Dublin County Council has refused planning permission to Google Ireland for a new data centre at Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin.
In its refusal, the council cited what it called “the existing insufficient capacity in the electricity network (grid) and the lack of significant on site renewable energy to power the data centre” as reasons for refusal.
The scheme was to be the third phase of the Google Ireland data centre campus at Grange Castle Business Park and involves the creation of 800 construction jobs and 50 jobs when operational.
The new 72,400m2 data storage facility data centre involves the construction of eight data halls on a 50 acre greenfield/brownfield site.
Planning documents lodged with the application by Google Ireland warned that if the new data centre project does not progress, the company will struggle to meet the increasing demands for its ICT services to its customers here.
The planning documents stated that the data centre will indirectly contribute 224,250 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum without any mitigation measures.
A 78-page planning report by ARUP lodged with the council stated that the proposed development “will be powered through an existing connection as agreed with Eirgrid”.
The report stated that the duration of the effects on climate “is considered to be short-term, as, in accordance with CAP24, 80% of the electricity grid will be renewable by 2030, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions”.
However, in its refusal, the council also cited the lack of clarity provided in relation to the applicant’s engagement with Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Ireland and the lack of a connection to the surrounding district heating network as grounds to turn the application down.
The council also highlighted the proposed design of the development as well as how it relates to its surroundings, and lack of detail of how the proposal will impact power supply once operational in 2027.
The council ruled that Google Ireland has failed to demonstrate that the proposed use is acceptable on Enterprise and Employment (EE) zoned lands, in accordance with the South Dublin County Development Plan (SDCC) 2022-2028.
The council also refused planning permission as the scheme did not comply with objective in the South Dublin County Development Plan in relation to the retention and protection of existing green infrastructure (stream and hedgerow), culverting and alteration of the stream on site, provision of green infrastructure and complying with the SDCC Green Space Factor.
In a submission, An Taisce warned that planning for the data centre “would further compromise our ability to achieve compliance with our carbon budget limits and would put additional pressure on renewables capacity to deal with the significant additional power demand”.
An Taisce Planning Officer Sean O’Callaghan stated that the proliferation of data infrastructure has largely gone unchecked, and data centres now consume 21% of Ireland’s total metred electricity.
Mr O’Callaghan stated that the planned data centre will put great pressure on an already strained electricity grid in the Dublin region, particularly in light of the large number of existing and proposed data centres already in the area.
Mr O’Callaghan further contended that a projected increase of 0.44% in national emissions from the project “is entirely incompatible with our obligations to reduce emissions”.
The Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, Jerry MacEvilly stated “our concern is that the proposed development would actively undermine the achievement of the state’s carbon budget programme”.
Dr Colin Doyle has told the council that claims of commitment by Google and Google Ireland Ltd “to decarbonisation amount to greenwashing”.
“The claims are all based on purchase of renewable electricity. While these purchases can be reported in corporate Green House Gas (GHG) accounting systems, they do not mitigate or offset in any way the physical additional GHG emissions caused by Google’s activities in Ireland,” he added.
Google Ireland now has the option of appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanala.
Asked to comment on the council decision, a spokeswoman for Google Ireland said this morning: “We don’t have a comment at this time.”
Reporting by Gordon Deegan