KCC Agrees To Write To Various Ministers Calling For Data Centre Moratorium

It comes as two data centres are planned for Naas

Sinn Féin Councillor for Kildare/Newbridge MD Noel Connolly says a proposed moratorium on data centres is not "anti-technology".

It comes as Council members agreed to write to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage seeking a national moratorium on the centres.

Cllr Connolly and other councillors, including Bill Clear, Mark Leigh, Anne Breen, Aoife Breslin, Angela Feeney and Rupert Heather, brought the motion to a Full Council meeting last month.

Last weekend saw a protest against the centres, organised by Friends of the Earth and attended by members of the Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign.

Two data centres are currently proposed for Naas, with Herbata Ltd's planned €3 billion development near the area, which received planning permission from Kildare County Council but is now under appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Microsoft also acquired land at Jigginstown in Naas, which is zoned for data centre development.

The aforementioned motion had asked for a moratorium until a public consultation process has been undertaken and national planning guidelines have been prepared and published.

The Councillors asked for elements to be taken into consideration, such as proximity to and impacts upon housing, schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.

They also referenced the "cumulative" impacts arising from proximity to existing centres, availability and capacity of water services and the use of air-cooling technologies where appropriate, opportunities for district heating and waste heat recovery, electricity demand at full operational capacity, as well as demand management requirements at peak periods, and impacts on grid infrastructure.

The Councillors then cited the importance of zoning requirements and the appropriateness of locations for data centre development, having regard to size, scale, visual impact and screening, community gain and social value along with carbon emissions, climate performance, biodiversity impacts and renewable energy provision.

Speaking on Kildare Today, Sinn Féin Councillor for Kildare/Newbridge MD Noel Connolly stressed that his motion shouldn't be seen as "anti-technology".

"I don't want this to be considered as an anti-technology motion or an anti-investment motion, the existing data centres that we have play an important role in our modern economy, and we all depend on digital services everyday.

"But there are 108 data centres in this State, nine are currently under construction and a further 38 have planning approval, despite having a population of just over 5 million people, we've become one of the most concentrated data centre locations in the world," he emphasised.

Also speaking on Kildare Today, was a member of Kildare Data Centre Awareness Campaign who was in attendance at last weekend's protest, Sorcha O' Neill:

"It was an incredible atmosphere, one of support and solidarity, we had people from all walks of life, we had artists, musicians, community activists, environmental groups, political groups, you name it."

Sorcha added that the national media coverage of the protest was "phenomenal", remarking that "it's definitely a national issue":

"People are more and more getting to understand what this means for communities, it's definitely a much bigger issue than just a local campaign," she concluded.

The full interview with Cllr Connolly can be heard below: