Amazon data centre plan for hearing

Amazon executives will come face to face with the two objectors opposing the first phase of the company’s €1bn data centre plan for Dublin. This follows a ruling by Bord Pleanála that an oral hearing will be held into the plan at its offices on September 26.

Amazon executives will argue the merits of their plan with the two objectors, Allan Daly and David Hughes, who appealed Fingal County Council’s decision to give Amazon firm, Amazon Data Services Ireland Limited the go-ahead for its project.

That company plans to initially build a 223,000sq ft data centre in Mulhuddart in north west Dublin and has told Fingal County Council it might build seven more data centres on the 26- hectare IDA-owned site.

Amazon’s web services division already has a number of data centres in Dublin, but its latest plan — dubbed Project G — is its most ambitious to date in Ireland. Mr Hughes also requested that the appeals board stage an oral hearing and the board has acceded to his request.

In a rebuttal to the appeals, consultants for Amazon, John Spain & Associates told Bord Pleanála the oral hearing was not warranted.

The consultants told the board that all the documents addressed the concerns raised by the appellants.

Mr Spain also said that the application was not subject to any objections from local residents, businesses, landowners or elected representatives.

“No significant planning issues or indeed new issues have been raised by either party in their appeals,” he said. He stated that given the planning history of the area and the land-use objectives, it was appropriate for the appeals board to grant planning as soon as was practical.

In his appeal, Mr Daly said the proposed development was likely to use a large quantity of energy which will pose a challenge to the planning, operation and capacity of the national grid.

In response, Mr Spain stated the development will require around 35MW of electricity. “Based on 2016 demand levels, this represents approximately 0.5% of the single energy market demand on the island of Ireland,” Mr Spain stated, adding that 400 people would be employed in building the data centre. In addition, there would be 32 staff at the site when it starts to operate.

Mr Spain says Amazon Data Services Ireland Ltd employs 1,000 people in Ireland and the data centre “will support and create significantly more direct and indirect roles”. Mr Spain claimed the concerns expressed by Mr Hughes in respect of the council assessment of the application “are unfounded”.