Apple to get answer on Irish data center this month

By

Irish flag
Apple's proposed data center has met with a bit of resistance.
Photo: John Hoey/Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple can expect to get a final verdict on whether it can continue development on its proposed 850 million euro ($960 million) data centre in Athenry, Ireland later this month.

An oral hearing concerning the major development took place earlier this year, and inspector Stephen Kay has now submitted his recommendations to the Irish advisory board about the project.

The 500-acre data center site — which will help power Apple Music, the App Store, iMessages, Maps and Siri — will be one of Apple’s most environmentally-friendly projects yet, although it’s attracted criticism concerning the potential impact it will have on local wildlife (particularly bats and badgers), the amount of traffic it will create, possible drainage issues, and concerns over the amount of power it will require to run.

Irishcenter
Apple’s proposed data center as it (may) eventually appear.
Photo: Apple

Concerning this latter point, Apple acknowledged as part of the May hearing that it has no current plans to build power generators on the site, and would therefore be plugging into the Irish national grid. According to a residents group, the result of this is that Apple will wind up as the largest private user of electricity in the state, consuming 8 percent of the national capacity — or more than the entire daily power usage of Dublin.

Apple had originally planned to start building on the site by the end of last year, although this was delayed until a verdict from An Bord Pleanála, an independent, statutory body which decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland.

While hearings about major projects like this aren’t unusual, the board’s verdict could require alterations to the proposed development.

Source: GalwaybayFM

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.