Plans are set to be submitted shortly for a large-scale data-centre campus on a site near Naas in Co Kildare. Herbata Ltd has announced its intention to apply to Kildare County Council for permission to develop a campus consisting of six two-storey data-centre buildings at Jigginstown, Halverstown, and Newhall, Naas, on land adjacent to the M7 Business Park.
According to the planning notice, five of the buildings will house a 19-metre-high data hall, each covering an area of 24,756 square meters. The sixth building will feature a data-centre hall of the same dimensions.
The application also includes plans for district heating infrastructure, such as gas turbines, gas engines, and battery energy storage systems. Additionally, solar panels spanning 3,600 square meters are to be installed on the roof of each data centre.
In a statement on Thursday, Herbata Ltd confirmed it is seeking planning permission for “a next-generation data centre campus which will uniquely not rely on the national grid for power.”
The company, located at Millennium Park, Naas, stated the project is “designed to minimize energy consumption and promote decarbonization.”
The planning notice outlines two main elements of the project: the data centre and a substation, which will include a new 110 kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) sub-station and the undergrounding of an existing 110 kV transmission line.
The substation will be the subject of a separate planning application to An Bord Pleanála, but an Environmental Impact Assessment report will be submitted to Kildare County Council as part of the application.
The Jigginstown area has been zoned for data-centre development by the council. Tech giant Microsoft has also confirmed it is preparing plans for a data-centre project in this locality, although the planning application has not yet been submitted.
A Microsoft spokeswoman stated that the company is “still in the early stages of developing plans for a data centre campus near Jigginstown” and could not provide a timeline for when the application will be lodged.
Tech companies in Ireland have expressed concerns over the restrictions placed on new data centres three years ago, due to increasing worries about their electricity consumption and the strain they place on the national grid. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities is expected to publish a new policy on connecting large energy users, such as data centres, to the national grid by the end of the summer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the forthcoming plans for a large-scale data-centre campus near Naas, Co Kildare, mark a significant development in the region’s tech infrastructure. Herbata Ltd’s initiative, designed to operate independently of the national grid, emphasizes a commitment to energy efficiency and decarbonization. As the Jigginstown area becomes a hub for data-centre development, with major players like Microsoft showing interest, the future of tech expansion in Ireland hinges on balancing energy consumption with sustainability. The anticipated policy update from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities will play a crucial role in shaping this balance, ensuring that the growth of data centres aligns with the national grid’s capacity and environmental goals.
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