Attempt is made to put a halt to data centres in Kildare
Kildare County Council is told guidelines must be put in place
A group of local politicians are seeking to put a stop to the development of new data centres in County Kildare.
Seven councillors - mainly from the Labour Party - want Kildare County Council to write to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
They are seeking the introduction of a “national moratorium on new data centre development.”
They say this should be until a public consultation process has been undertaken and national planning guidelines for data centres have been prepared and published.
The group which includes Independent Ireland councillor Bill Clear and Sinn Féin’s Noel Connolly say the guidelines should include proximity to and impacts on existing and future housing, schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.”
The motion, due to be tabled at a KCC meeting this afternoon, said the guidelines should also cover the cumulative impacts arising from proximity to existing data centres and the availability and capacity of water services.
They also say the guidelines should embrace the use of air-cooling technologies where appropriate; opportunities for district heating and waste heat recovery and electricity demand at full operational capacity.
They should also cover demand management requirements at peak periods and ramifications for local, regional and national grid infrastructure.
The guidelines should also cover zoning requirements and the appropriateness of locations for data centre development, “having regard to size, scale, visual impact and screening, community gain and social value” as well as carbon emissions, climate performance, biodiversity impacts and renewable energy provision.