Opposition builds to massive Kildare data centre

AN APPLICATION to build a massive data centre in six buildings on the outskirts of Naas has been submitted to Kildare County Council this week.

In total, Herbata Ltd is hoping to construct 14.85Ha (37ac) of servers on a site between Halverstown, Jigginstown and Newhall that will require the demolition of three existing homes, including their garages and outbuildings.

Each of the six buildings will be 19m high, and there will also be an administration block 2,505sqm in area, four metres shorter than the server buildings.

Because of the heat generated by this collection of servers, each of the six buildings will have its own sprinkler tank and system installed.

Each building will also 3,600sqm of solar panels on its roof, and will also have a rainwater harvesting system incorporated.

Gas Network Ireland will have a compound on site to supply the required power, and this will include a bio-methane injection points as well, and a 10kV sub-station.

There will be a new access point to the data centre from the L2030 via the M7 Business Park with a bridge over the Bluebell River.

There will also be 210 car parking spaces, and 104 bike spaces.

Already the project has faced criticism, particularly from local politician Cllr Rob Power, a vocal opponent of data centres.

“I would have concerns about building something of this size,” he said.

“The Lidl distribution warehouse in Newbridge was the biggest construction site in the country when it was built, and this is three of these,” he said.

“Despite what they say, it won’t be net neutral until 2038, I’d have serious reservations about it,” he said.

Cllr Power was supported by Caragh Tidy Towns who posted the following statement in relation to the proposed data centre.

“In October 2021, the Naas Local Area Plan 2021-2027 designated two areas to the west of Naas for data centre development,” said their spokesperson.

“There were provisos and conditions imposed by councillors on any development but ultimately, this appears to be the inevitable and inexorable move to the development of the greenfield site at Halverstown.

“The six data halls proposed will amount to the area of 12 Croke Park pitches, with each hall measuring 19m tall - half the height of Croke Park.

“Removal of the mature hedgerows internally amount to approx. 3.3km, the distance from Halverstown to Main Street, Naas.

“Last year, we in Caragh adopted a Biodiversity Action Plan, and now, in one planning decision, any future benefit realised by our plan will be eliminated,” they said.