Apple Athenry data centre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118013918#Comment_118013918

You havn't said what the impact of the DC would be, nor looked at any other potential benefits of the DC other than jobs.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118014410#Comment_118014410

Not sure if you are being deliberately obtuse or what, but I have stated it, multiple times i.e. when fully built it would consume the equivalent of 7 counties of energy. As that level of impact to the local and national grid, it would want to be bringing some massive, enormous, benefits to the local/national economy.

Outside of the handful of staff required to run it, and the folks involved for a few months in building it, I'm not sure there are any other benefits, but you're welcome to elaborate if you are aware of any. I would ask that you weigh up those benefits against the impacts and state whether you think it balances out.

motley

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/application-for-new-challenges-to-apple-s-athenry-data-centre-to-be-heard-1.4718329

Looks like we are back to square 1.

That's that for a data center in Athenry, the permission extension has been quashed, costs awarded against GCC and the govt in favour of the complainants

PRESS RELEASE

ECO-ADVOCACY

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY 2022

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Galway Apple Data Centre permission extension quashed

The High Court has quashed the decision of Galway County Council to allow a further 5 years for Apple to construct eight data halls on a 202 hectare site on un-zoned and un-serviced rural lands at Derrydonnell, Athenry, County Galway.

The challenges by the NGO Eco-Advocacy and resident Allan Daly follows on rulings by both the European Court of Justice and the Aarhus Compliance Committee that Ireland’s planning laws undermine European Environment law in allowing extension to planning permissions without public participation.

The judgment found that Galway County Council failed to assess extending the period originally set for carrying out the project which is required to be preceded by an assessment of its implications under EU legislation which also requires public participation.

Kieran Cummins, a Director of Eco-Advocacy, said their submission on the extension was returned with the €20 fee by Galway County Council in July 2021. It was this decision that was quashed in the High Court this week.

‘The EU legislation specifically requires ‘an assessment of other plans or projects’, Mr. Cummins said. ‘In the 6 years since this application was made Ireland’s data centres have grown from 5% to consuming 14% and are now projected to require 30% of Ireland’s energy by 2030. The permission should have been reassessed in the light of this new landscape.’

Mr. Cummins, who addressed the recent annual ‘Law and the Environment Conference’ at University College Cork on the subject of Data Centres, said that ‘This case is a perfect example of why large-scale planning permissions should not be extended without public participation and fresh evaluation. What was attempted here was to use a loophole that allowed Apple to avoid the current policy of refusal by Eirgrid to take new applications.’

Minister Eamon Ryan confirmed that policy yesterday, telling RTE that ‘We haven’t taken a new application for a new data centre going back almost two years to July 2020’.

In his address, Mr. Cummins cited a 2019 Report by the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) who ‘have estimated data centre expansion will require almost €9bn in new energy infrastructure and add at least 1.5m tonnes to Ireland’s carbon emissions by 2030 – a 13% spike on current electricity sector emissions.’

‘Most countries are seeing their electricity demand stagnate or decline as their populations are stagnant or decreasing while energy efficiency is increasing. This compares with Ireland where we are seeing our electricity demand increase’, he told the Conference.

Cost were awarded against Galway County Council and against Ireland and the Attorney General, 50% to be paid by each party to Eco Advocacy and to Mr. Daly. No order was made in relation to the costs of the notice party, Apple Distribution International Limited

High Court Record Number Number 2021/812JR

wassie

Thats a fairly robust decision from the High Court. Whilst the application indicated Apple would seek to develop the site with "interested parties", sources I've spoken to said they felt Apple's preferred option was to sell it with the planning approval in place. Either way it doesn't matter now.

Its a double blow for Apple, as not only has the Extension of Time been overturned, they are also are now effectively left with a large tract of "un-zoned and un-serviced rural lands", that will result in a signifcant devaluation.

Great news I suspect for the folks who use the woodlands though.

charlie_says

Are France going to become a large data centre hub due to their foresight to use (cheap, reliable, safe, low emission) nuclear energy?

Some additional information around the quashing of the permission for the data center.

Apple will have to put in a completely fresh planning application if they are to sell the site as a data center site

https://connachttribune.ie/high-court-quashes-planning-decision-on-apple-in-athenry/

the whole year inn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159250#Comment_119159250

By looks of they have no intention to use the land, they canceled the second data center in Denmark aswell. If they were going to go forward with this why haven't they?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119164368#Comment_119164368

Yeah they were trying to sell it as a DC ready site. That's dead now unless they apply for new permission which they likely wouldn't get as a lot has changed since the original application, not least of which the capacity of the grid to host such a large DC

A bit more on the recent news that the planning permission has been killed

RTE news : Planning extension for Apple Galway data centre quashed

http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0607/1303435-planning-extension-for-apple-galway-data-centre-quashed/

Robbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116082#Comment_119116082

Complainants is a bit harsh, it's not a criminal matter. Applicant and Respondent is the usual description for the parties in a judicial review action.

It's a bit disingenous that Eco Advocacy are briefing that is is a judgment. It's an order made on consent. That is to say that both sides agreed what the outcome would be and the Court rubber stamped it. It would be very rare for a court to look behind a consent order. A judgment is a reasoned decision which has precedential value, a consent order is of limited use to anyone else bar the parties concerned.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119178240#Comment_119178240

Point taken on the terminology

hometruths

The other objector to the Apple data centre is still doing his best to impede data centres closer to his home, but probably for less eco friendly reasons:

The High Court has granted a temporary injunction preventing an alleged former owner of lands earmarked for a data centre from trespassing on the property.

The order was made in favour of Fane Investments Ltd, which alleges that Brian McDonagh, which it says is a former owner of lands it owns at Mount Kennedy, Kilpedder, Co Wicklow, is trespassing and interfering with the 82-acre property.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/06/02/man-prevented-from-trespassing-on-lands-earmarked-for-data-centre/