Planning permission for Dublin data centre denied following appeal

Equinix previously had permission in place for the data centre to be powered by electricity but it had not been able to secure a commercial or technical offer to supply power to the site.

Plans for a data centre in Dublin that would have been powered by an on-site gas-power generator have been turned down by An Bord Pleanála, as it would be “inappropriate and contrary to national climate obligations”.

Almost 18 months after it lodged its appeal, Equinix Ireland Ltd has been refused permission for its data centre plans on the Nangor Road in Clondalkin.

It had permission in place for the data centre to be powered by electricity but it had not been able to secure a commercial or technical offer to supply power to the site. Instead, it had to seek new planning permission for a data centre on the same site to be powered by gas.

The topic of data centres continues to be at the fore given the ever-increasing share of Ireland’s electricity guzzled up by data centres.

Under proposed new rules announced by the energy regulator last week, new data centres would not be required to use renewable sources for their own back-up electricity generation.

However, any new centres looking to connect to the electricity network must be able to feed their own energy supply back into the grid to supply homes and businesses and they must also publish their carbon emissions and use of renewables under the proposed new rules. 

In the case of this proposed centre in Clondalkin, South Dublin City Council refused permission for the development, citing the lack of a fixed connection to the grid, the lack of significant on-site renewable energy to power the development, and the reliance on a gas-powered plant.

In its appeal to An Bord Pleanála, Equinix said it received confirmation that it cannot be connected to the grid with a verbal direction from ESB Networks that a power supply will be available to the deveopment in six-to-eight years’ time.

It said an on-site gas-powered generator would operate in the interim and that the lack of a grid connection is not an appropriate refusal reason as the proposal did not relate to a connection to the grid.

Furthermore, it agreed to enter into a power-purchasing agreement with a renewable energy plant that was in development to deliver additional renewables into the Irish electrical grid that would offset the energy consumed by the data centre.

In a report from An Bord Pleanála’s planning inspector, a recommendation was made to grant permission for the development.

However, one of the conditions recommended was that the developer provides assurances that the energy consumed onsite would be offset with new renewable energy generation.

In its decision, the board did not agree with its inspector.

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It said that a grant of permission would be “inconsistent with national climate ambitions and the relevant provisions of the [Government’s] Climate Action Plan 2024”.

The board said it did agree with its inspector that Government policy on data centres confirms that such developments are considered “core digital infrastructure which play a vital role in the Irish economy and society, but also that ‘islanded’ data centres are not in line with national policy”.

“However, the board did not share the opinion of the inspector that a shorter-term of the onsite power generator, suggested at eight years and controlled by condition, would be appropriate,” it said.

It said a refusal of permission was “warranted in this case”.

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