Environmental campaigners blast 'head-scratching' approval for Ennis data centre

Developer Art Data Centres was granted planning by Clare County Council for the €450m Ennis project.

Environmental groups have reacted with fury at the "abhorrent" decision to greenlight a data centre in Ennis, claiming the move will be harmful to public health and contribute to emissions.

Developer Art Data Centres was granted planning by Clare County Council for the €450m Ennis project, claiming it will create up to 450 permanent jobs when the campus is fully operational, and that up to 1,200 will be employed in construction.

The campus will comprise six data halls of 33MW each, an energy centre and so-called 'vertical farm, covering 145 acres and 1.3 million sq ft. The 200 megawatt (MW) project will take seven years to build if construction begins this year, the developer said.

Art Data Centres chief executive Tom McNamara said: "The infrastructure that is available in the Ennis site will assist Government in national ambitions to deliver ongoing opportunities for the country in the tech industry."

However, the decision to grant planning as well as the developer's ambitions were slammed by various environmental groups and academics.

Dr Patrick Bresnihan, lecturer in the Department of Geography at Maynooth University, said: "What we do know is that they are hugely energy-intensive and water-intensive. We don’t need this type of development, particularly in the context of climate change which is only becoming more pressing and urgent."

According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data earlier this year, electricity consumption by data centres increased by 32% between 2020 and 2021, and the increase between January-March 2015 and October-December 2021 was 265%.

The electricity consumption is equivalent to an additional 200,000 homes being powered, according to experts, while running one of Ireland's 70 data centres is known to be water-intensive because of the cooling needed.

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Futureproof Clare called the decision abhorrent, adding that people in Ennis have already raised concerns about the town's air quality, which has regularly exceeded World Health Organisation levels for damaging particles.

Spokesperson Melina Sharp said: "With increased instability on the grid and the planned closure of Moneypoint in 2025, the data centre in Ennis will need to run its own backup generators to avoid having to shut down. This means that the dirtier diesel generators will be spinning up and down beside the town more often producing harmful emissions that lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses."

Climate Camp Ireland, which has been at the forefront of resistance against planned fossil fuel infrastructure in the west and southwest in recent weeks, said a data centre for Ennis was counter to Ireland's emissions reduction targets for 2030 and beyond.

Spokesman William Hederman said: "It is head-scratching to allow such a project, as data centres are huge energy consumers and usurpers of natural resources. Government policy at the moment is disconnected from reality."