South Dublin County Council has refused Google Ireland planning permission for a new data center at Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin.
The council cited what it called “the existing insufficient capacity in the electricity network (grid) and the lack of significant on-site renewable energy to power the data center” as reasons for refusal.
The scheme was to be the third phase of the Google Ireland data center campus at Grange Castle and would involve the creation of 50 jobs when operational. The new 72,400sq m data center would have seen the construction of eight data halls on a 50-acre site.
The refusal comes amid a growing backlash against data centers here amid a spike in the amount of energy they use at a time when Ireland is struggling to meet its targets to cut carbon emissions. Data centers used about 21 per cent of all electricity generated in the State last year, according to the Central Statistics Office, compared to 5 per cent in 2015. That number is expected to hit 27 per cent by 2028. They already use more power than all urban households in the State.
