A billion-dollar Apple data center in Ireland is
currently on hold due to delays by the local environmental review board over concerns about the impact of the construction on local wildlife. Although the company received permission to build up to eight "data halls" or server buildings (approximately 263,000 square feet each) on the site, local residents
registered concerns that the construction of the center will harm the local population of badgers, bats, and other animals. Local activists have called Apple's original environmental impact assessment (EIS) "inadequate," but the board (An Bord Pleanála) has been delaying a decision on the matter.
While environmental groups like An Taisce have expressed approval at Apple's plan to make the data center run on renewable power, it would like to see more details on how it will be accomplished, and address other concerns, such as night-lighting. Other groups have expressed concerns about increased traffic in the rural area, as the facility will create about 300 additional jobs during the construction phase, and a smaller number of permanent jobs once it goes online.
One group would like to see carbon-neutral transportation for workers, while another Athenry-based group wants Apple to pay for a cycling/walking "greenway" from the facility to nearby communities to reduce the need for cars. The groups are not against the construction of the data center, but have said Apple's existing EIS is not sufficient to merit approval of more data halls until more environmental factors are addressed.
Graphic by The Independent
Apple currently believes the final ruling on the assessment will come next month, but local officials quoted by
Business Insider suspect the board will delay a decision further, possibly until June. Galway County Councillor Peter Feeney explained that "often their response is, 'we won't decide on this for another month,' and then when that date comes up, they would delay again. They are obliged to respond [to local residents' concerns], but not to make a decision."
Computer-generated visualization of the center
The conflict began last June, when residents protested Apple's EIS. At the time, the county council mitigated the conflict by allowing Apple to build the first "data hall," but required Apple to re-apply for each of the subsequent seven planned buildings, giving residents a chance to examine the real-world impact. The data center will serve as one of two European server farms for iTunes, iCloud and various other web services, with a sister site going ahead in Denmark.