Amazon AWS: AWS granted permission for two data center buildings in Dublin despite controversy

AWS has reportedly been granted permission to build two data centers in Dublin on the site of a former Ricoh building, which was once earmarked for T5’s first European facility. This approval has gone ahead despite mounting concerns around energy availability in Dublin, environmental concerns, and data center density in Dublin. Amazon’s application said that the company is committed to building a sustainable business “for our customers and the planet,” something which has come under scrutiny in recent months, with Amazon’s most recent and not-so-promising ESG report.

The facility’s Data Centre A and Data Centre B will have a gross floor area of c. 12,875 sqm (138,500 sq ft) and c. 1,455 sqm (15,600 sq ft) respectively, on the site in Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park, spanning 3.75-hectares. The larger building will also reportedly have two additional mezzanine levels.

Amazon has forecast that there will be between 15 and 58 staff required to work at the data centers over a 24-hour period, with up to 400 jobs being created during the construction phase of the project.

While many have been pushing for a moratorium on new data center developments, the Commission of Regulation of Utilities ruled out a moratorium on new data centers, instead saying that new developments would be assessed on a case-by-case basis, with regards to the location of future facilities and their ability to generate their own power supplies.