Environmentalists raise concerns over Ennis data centre plan

A PUBLIC information event will take place next Monday (August 16) to air environmental concerns over the planned €1.2 billion Ennis data centre.

The online briefing will be hosted by Futureproof Clare, who are calling on the local authority to reject the application on the grounds of the centre’s massive energy requirements. It will be addressed by Deputy Bríd Smith and Professor Barry McMullin of Dublin City University (DCU).

According to an application lodged by Art Data Centres Ltd last month, the facility will have access to 200 mega-watts of power from both the network grid and gas generation on site.

The data centre campus, whose developers have promised will create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions, is identified by Clare County Council as a key pillar of the Ennis 2040 Economic Plan.

Concerns over energy and resource consumption by the facility have now been raised by Futureproof Clare, Extinction Rebellion Clare and the Clare Environmental Network.

“According to the planning application for Ennis Data Centre, it would use 1 million litres of water per day during hot weather, while the electricity load would be 200MW, which is the amount of power used by 210,000 homes,” said Emanuela Ferrari of Futureproof Clare.

“It is twice as much power as was generated at the Lough Ree peat-burning power station in Lanesborough, which closed recently.”

Ms Ferrari expressed the view that the rapid growth of data centres will lead to pressure to approve controversial energy projects including the Shannon LNG terminal. “Another huge data centre is the last thing we should be building,” she said. Against the backdrop of this week’s UN report on climate change, Ms Ferrari questioned how data centre development can be compatible with strategic aims of enhancing the environment.

“The  only way to avoid a climate catastrophe is for every country to decarbonise rapidly,” she said. “Building more data centres is going in the wrong direction.”

Aisling Wheeler of Extinction Rebellion Clare noted that energy regulators have raised concerns pressure on the national electricity grid could result in rolling blackouts.

“Despite these warnings, Clare County Council is not requiring Ennis Data Centre to generate any renewable energy,” she said. “If Big Tech cannot provide new renewable energy to power their data centres, they should be refused permission.”

Ms Wheeler added: “Given the climate crisis, installing new fossil fuel plants is reckless and short-sighted. This data centre application must be rejected in its current form, both because of the carbon emissions from burning fossil gas and the excessive load it places on the grid. The council should insist that any data centre be powered by renewables provided by the operator.”

Theresa O’Donohoe of the Clare Environmental Network raised issues around the public consultation process.

“Public participation has been almost non-existent, and a legal challenge on these grounds will undoubtedly succeed,” she said. “A five-week planning permission window in July/August is not sufficient. People in Clare were not given adequate information about this data centre and its major environmental impact, including the enormous energy use. Everyone has the right to information and to participate in decisions affecting their environment, under the Aarhus Convention which Ireland ratified in 2012.”

In respect of questions raised over consultation, a spokesperson for the developers told The Champion: “This project has been in the public arena since it was zoned, a process which commenced in 2018 and ended in April 2019. There were extensive consultations with local residents both individually and collectively held at the Dromoland Inn during this period. The proposed zoning process would have carried public advertisements and it was widely debated in the Council Chamber as the public representatives had to vote on it.”

The spokesperson said that, prior to the planning application being lodged, there had been consultation including advertisements in local newspapers on April 16 and 23; a video conference with councillors, landowners and neighbours on April 22; and an ongoing public consultation facility, with links to make observations and phone numbers, which went live online on April 23.

The spokesperson also drew attention to a three-volume Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) which has been submitted with the application and is available on the website of Clare County Council.

In addition, an Energy and Sustainability Statement submitted with the application details how the operation of the data centre will align with national and local policy and guidance in relation to sustainability. The document asserts that the centre will comply with The National Planning Framework (NPF); the National Climate Adaptation Framework; Government Policy Statement on the Development of Data Centres in Ireland (2018); The National Climate Action Plan 2019-2024; Sustainability Ireland’s Framework for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)’s standards on Energy Efficient Design Management. The EIAR and sustainability statement also outline in detail how the centre will comply with sustainable development, energy efficiency and other environmental aims of the County Development Plan.

Meanwhile, Futureproof Clare has prepared a template letter for anyone wishing to object to the data centre plan by the submissions deadline of 4pm on August 19. Details of that letter as well as the online discussion, which will take place at 7.30pm on August 16, will be available through the Futureproof Clare Facebook page. Registration for the meeting can be made by emailing futureproofclare@gmail.com.