An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Amazon Web Services for three new data centres in north Dublin, three years after plans were initially submitted in December 2022. Universal Developers LLC secured approval for the facilities with a combined power load of 73MW on a 65-acre site at Cruiserath Road, Dublin 15.
Fingal County Council had initially approved the project in September 2023, but progress was halted after five third-party appeals were lodged with An Bord Pleanála. The appeals came from Friends of the Earth, the Fingal One Future Group, Dr Colin Doyle, John Conway, Louth Environmental Group, and Mannix Coyne.
The planning commission granted permission after considering several factors, including an existing grid connection to the Cruiserath site, established infrastructure to supply the development, and an existing agreement with EirGrid to provide power. The commission also noted the location within a wider development area with established data centre use and took into account EirGrid’s initial agreement, which factored the overall power demand into national requirements under Sectoral Ceiling Emissions.
An Bord Pleanála also considered the Commission for Energy Regulation’s decision paper on Large Energy Users connection policy concerning data centres, published on December 12 this year. The planning permission includes a critical condition requiring the developer to enter into a Corporate Purchase Power Agreement with a renewable energy provider before the data centre becomes operational. The commission ordered that electricity generated by new renewable energy projects must equal or exceed the data centres’ electricity requirements at any given time.
The commission concluded the proposal would have no unacceptable impacts on the environment or nearby properties. While acknowledging the development has potential to negatively impact climate through greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, the commission stated that with implementation of mitigation measures, the residual climate impact from construction and operational phases would be minor-adverse and non-significant.
In its decision, An Bord Pleanála adopted the report and recommendations of its inspector. Amazon Web Services had maintained the planning application would have no significant climate impact. AWN Consulting, reporting for AWS, estimated greenhouse gas emissions for the permitted development would range from 213,840 tonnes of CO2 this year to 132,164 tonnes in 2030, equating to 4.4% of the Electricity Sector Emission ceiling. The consultants stated greenhouse gas emissions for the overall Cruiserath data campus project would reach 262,535 CO2 tonnes in 2030, representing 8.8% of the 2030 Electoral Sectoral emission ceiling. AWN Consulting asserted their assessment ensured the proposed development and overall project is climate proofed.