Amazon’s plans for two Dublin data centres meet with opposition

Plans for two new data centre buildings for Amazon at the Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park in north Dublin are facing opposition.

The application by Colliers Properties with Dublin City Council for the Amazon-operated data centre buildings follows Amazon incurring an estimated capital spend of €2 billion on its network of such facilities here over the past decade.

Between 2011 and 2020, the company incurred an additional estimated operational spend of €2.4 billion on its data centres here.

However, in response to the new application, environmental and social justice NGO Gluaiseacht noted that Amazon had in August secured planning permission for a separate data centre scheme at the same business park.

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"No sooner is that one granted than they have put in for another data centre complex in the same location of the same size. This is project splitting that is being used to hide the true size and energy-guzzling status of Amazon's operations in Ireland, " it said.

On behalf of Gluaiseacht, Eoin Ó Leidhin told Dublin City Council: “Projects with this level of proposed new energy and water usage should only be ever considered in the most dire of needs. A data centre simply does not meet this criterion, especially when there has been no limits set on how much data is reasonable to store and there are no incentives for individuals and organisations to minimise their data usage in the face of ever increasing demands on energy.”

Job creation

Grass-roots organisation Not Here Not Anywhere has also opposed the scheme.

Planning consultant for Colliers Properties, John Spain & Associates, states that Amazon’s investment in data centres here in 2020 supported 2,300 jobs, according to a report by Indecon.

John Spain said the same Indecon report stated that in 2020 Amazon invested €80 million in Dublin city and that its spend with Irish contractors overseas on its data centres had increased to €228 million.

“The proposed development represents a significant investment that will create additional direct, indirect and induced economic and employment benefits for the area,” he said.

Mr Spain contends that the proposal represents a positive design solution and appropriate proposal for the zoned lands, adding that Amazon was on a path to being 100 per cent powered by renewable energy by 2025.