Apple granted permission for €850m data centre in Galway
Tech giant Apple has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanala to build an €850m data centre in Co Galway.
The 24,500 square metre data centre, an administration building and associated works will cater for the company’s Apple Music, App Store, Maps, Messages and Siri customer in Europe.
The data centre in Athenry had been approved by Galway County Council last September, but were then met with numerous appeals.
Among the concerns included flooding fears, energy usage, environmental and climate change impact and wildlife issues.
Permission was granted partially due to the “projected demand” for data storage in the future, as well as the “economic and operational rationale for the clustering of data storage capacity on one site.”
The construction process should employ 300, with 150 jobs created thereafter.
Ireland beat competition from 18 other countries to secure the project. Apple has said that by 2031, eight buildings of almost 25,000 sq ms each could be developed to cater for “rapid expansion” in wireless communications, networking and entertainment.
