Equinix submits appeal for denied Dublin data centre project

Equinix has lodged an appeal with Bord Pleanala for its proposed data centre in Dublin after it was refused permission by South Dublin County Council.

In its appeal, the data centre provider proposed to reconfigure the data centre project by eliminating the third-floor front-of-house offices. The front-of-house parapet height is also proposed to be raised to 16.8m.

Equinix also suggested an alteration to the second floor to provide consistency betwmeen the front-of-house and data halls. The second floor may also be provisioned for storage instead of internal generators, which will be located in an external yard instead.

The data centre is earmarked to be located at Plot 100, Profile Park on Nagar Road in Dublin. However, in August, South Dublin County Council refused Equinix permission to build the data centre amid Dublin’s defacto moratorium implemented by EirGrid.

The initial proposal said the data centre would be powered by the electric grid. Equinix reconfigured its proposal and said it would be gas powered in the hopes the proposal would gain approval from the state-owned company ESB.

Equinix claimed it received verbal confirmation from ESB for the project. However, the South Dublin County Council determined that Equinix did not meet grid connection requirements. The Council also said Equinix did not demonstrate that the proposed use of the enterprise-zoned land was ‘acceptable’.

The appeal is expected to be decided by 15 January 2024.

Hungry for more tech news?

Sign up for your weekly tech briefings!