In a blow to Google Ireland, the South Dublin County Council (SDCC) on Tuesday rejected the tech giant’s planning application to set up a new data centre at Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin.
The council’s refusal was based on concerns about “the existing insufficient capacity in the electricity network (grid) and the lack of significant on-site renewable energy to power the data centre”, RTE reported.
The proposed development was to be the third phase of the Google Ireland’s data centre campus at Grange Castle. The project was expected to create 800 construction jobs and 50 permanent positions once operational.
The new data centre would have included a 72,400m2 facility with eight data halls on a 50-acre site.
Planning documents submitted by Google Ireland emphasized the importance of the project, warning that without the new data centre, the company would struggle to meet the growing demand for its ICT services in Ireland.
However, the planning documents also acknowledged environmental concerns, noting that the data centre could contribute an estimated 224,250 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually without mitigation measures.
Despite this, Google Ireland had intended to power the facility through an existing connection with Eirgrid, as detailed in a 78-page planning report by ARUP submitted with the application.
Google Ireland has the option of appealing the SDCC’s decision to An Bord pleanala.