Kildare County Council Says Proposed Data Centre Would Produce Levels Of Emissions That Go Against National Policy

Wednesday, 9 October 2024 14:42

By Hannah Kelly

Stock image: Pixabay via Panumas Nikhomkhai

The proposed data centre would be located on lands in the Jigginstown, Halverstown and Newhall areas of Naas

Kildare County Council has said that a proposed data centre in the Naas area would produce levels of emission that go against provisions of National Policy as set out in Ireland's Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030.

Herbata Ltd., owned by multi-millionaire engineering entrepreneur Robert Moffett and has a current partial address in 4c Sycamore House,
Millennium Park, Naas, lodged plans for a six data centre campus.

The campus would be located on lands in the Jigginstown, Halverstown and Newhall areas.

According to Kildare County Council, this proposed development would result in the emission of 28.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent during its lifetime, which represents 49.35% of the Sectoral Emissions Ceiling for the entire Commercial Built Environment Sector to 2030.

This level of emission is considered to be excessive for one development and would have wider implications for the sector to remain within its emission ceiling, with a negative impact on climate change.

The council states that the development "would set an undesirable precedent for similar developments of this nature and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".

The planning application also notes that the proposed data centre relies heavily on the supply of gas from the national network, despite there being no gas supply infrastructure available to serve the site.

Therefore, it would be wholly reliant on Gas Networks Infrastructure, to which the council considers the proposed development to be premature.

The council also noted the site would be largely driven by fossil fuels, and the considered volume of biomethane required to serve the fully operational proposal would be 50% of the national target of decarbonising gas supply by 2050, which it considers to be unsustainable.

The planning application is currently live, and the applicant has 6 months to respond to the points raised by Kildare County Council.

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