The request for a judicial review of Art Data Centres’ campus in County Clare, Ireland, has been dismissed.
The data center, first proposed in 2019, would see €1.2 billion ($1.3bn) in investment. The campus would span 145 acres, with six data halls each spanning 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sqm), and offer 200MW of power.
The Ennis data center project was given planning permission in 2022, and approved by An Bord Pleanala in April 2024, but opponents to the project including the Clare Green Party called for a judicial review to try and block the development.
The judicial review, applied for by Colin Doyle, Friends of the Irish Environment CLG, Futureproof Clare, Martin Knox, and Christine Sharpe, was assessed on February 25, with the result shared today, March 21.
The application was made on grounds including the presence of a Leisler’s Bat species in the area, that An Bord Pleanala “failed to apply and/or consider its mandatory obligation under section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015,” that the data center decision did not take into account sufficient sustainable and renewable power, and did not meet GHG emission mitigation requirements.
The review found that the grounds for review, including sub-grounds 91-93 which pertained to the bat species, did not have merit.
Should the applicants for the judicial review resubmit for a second look, the matter will be listed again on March 31 to arrange the processing of all remaining grounds.
The project includes an 83MVA off-grid power source and partnerships with wind, solar, and biogas providers to create a microgrid once Irish legislation allows private wire networks.
Art Data Centres is currently advancing discussions for grid connections, and has submitted applications to EirGrid for an 83MVA connection to Ennis Substation which is expected to be finalized “shortly.”
Part of the project is an “Energy Centre” that will be developed by Art Data Centres, but may be built and operated by a specialist in the sector. The Energy Centre will be powered by gas engines, but will eventually transition to biogas and hydrogen. This is necessary as a condition of getting a grid connection from EirGrid and will be required to despatch power back to the grid on demand in the event of energy supply issues.
A grid connection will be the first phase of the power offering, with the second to see Art Data Centres also using 120MW of high-pressure gas main feeding the Energy Centre, with 48 hours of on-site diesel/HVO for backup storage.
A nearby vertical farm will also use waste heat from the data centers via a district heating system.
With the judicial review now dismissed, construction is set to begin soon and the first data halls are expected to be completed by the end of 2027. Construction will be completed over three phases, with each phase developing two data center buildings. According to a source with knowledge of the matter, conversations with end-users are currently underway.
Since its proposal, the data center has faced some criticism, with environmentalists describing it as a “climate disaster waiting to happen.” Several appeals were lodged against its initial approval in 2022, with one of the appellants, Ireland’s national trust An Taisce, stating in its filing that the development would generate 657,000 tonnes of CO2 each year due to its high power requirements.
Despite this, Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister), then Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, spoke in favor of the project in the summer of 2024.
Martin said at the time: “I would support that data center and its connection to the grid. We have a lot of data centers in Ireland but we are living in a digital economy and that is the future, AI is coming and the demand for data will grow exponentially so we have to facilitate all of that.
“It positions Ireland well for the long-term, we have to expand the grid but this represents an opportunity for here and for this location, that is why for areas outside of Dublin which haven’t had that sort of investment in the past we can’t deny them that investment, I understand the grid capacity is there.”
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