Plans for a data center in County Louth, eastern Ireland, would make it more difficult for the nation to reach its sustainability targets, heritage groups have said.
Premier Pericase Ltd (PPL), which owns the land, is seeking permission to demolish existing buildings and construct the three-story data center as part of an industrial development planned for Boyne Avenue in the town of Drogheda, Louth.
The site was previously used as a magnesia and magnesium hydroxide production facility operated by PPL, but the company is now seeking to redevelop and has submitted a planning application to Louth County Council.
According to the application, it appears PPL plans to power the data center mainly by using natural gas, connecting to Gas Networks Ireland’s Drogheda Transmission Station, located adjacent to the site. It will also install solar panels and a battery energy storage system (BESS) to utilize solar power, which it says could eventually deliver renewable energy back to the grid.
However, An Taisce, Ireland’s national trust, said the plan could be damaging to the environment. In comments reported by the Irish Times, An Taisce planning officer Seán O’Callaghan and senior planning and environmental policy officer Phoebe Duvall said the development “would facilitate a breach of the emissions reduction obligations under the Climate Act.”
Campaign group Protect East Meath said in a submission to the council that it was “particularly concerned that this project would lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions which would exceed the State’s carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceilings and/or prevent it complying with those emissions limits.”
The plan would see a three-story data center built on the southern portion of the site to accommodate data hall floorspace, mechanical and electrical rooms, support facilities, telecommunication rooms, storage, and ancillary office space.
It would be 26,550 sqm (285,782 sq ft) in size, and 29 m (95 ft) high. “Solar PV arrays and plant will be provided at roof level, with a structure offset from the southern façade of the building providing additional solar PV arrays and green wall,” the application says.
Neither the technical specifications for the data center, nor how it will be used, have been shared.
Planning consultants the PM Group, which lodged the application on PPL’s behalf, said the plan would “represent a major improvement in the overall industrial carbon emissions for the county and for the region.”
The data center industry’s presence in Ireland has become a talking point in recent years due to the strain it is putting on the country’s power grid. These concerns led to a defacto moratorium on new developments in the Dublin region being imposed by grid operator EirGrid, which is set to last until 2028.
Drogheda is already home to a data center used by Amazon, at the IDA Business Park on Donore Road. It was due to come online last year, with another two data centers also planned for the park.
