‘They’re getting electricity for way lower prices’: Few regrets in Mayo over data centre refusal
Residents in Killala, Co Mayo, show little regret following the refusal of a €1.5 billion data centre project. The planning board rejected the proposal due to concerns over its alignment with climate action goals and a lack of renewable energy commitments.
Why it matters
This case reflects the growing tension between the infrastructure needs of the digital economy and local environmental/energy grid sustainability concerns.
D ata centres are not on the menu for the customers who still like to eat dinner in the middle of the day in The Village Inn, Killala, Co Mayo.
A huddle of them sitting at the bar when The Irish Times visited recently are more concerned about a couple of Irish-bred horses that had romped home at a race in Wolverhampton a few days earlier.
However, Marie Sweeney, who has run the pub for the last 32 years with her husband Aidan, is happy to talk about An Coimisiún Pleanála’s refusal of the development of a data centre near the village.
Mayo Data Hub Ltd, a subsidiary of US infrastructure and data centre firm Avaio Digital, had originally received planning permission from Mayo County Council last year for the proposed €1.5 billion project at the Killala Business Park, once the location of the Asahi factory.
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