Plan for Echelon's Wicklow data centre campus to have solar farm
The new application for the solar array is part of a larger investment in wind-generated renewable energy (almost 1GW), battery energy storage systems, and renewable fuels to replace fossil fuel consumed by the data centre.
Submitted by Crag Wicklow Limited, the application seeks permission for a solar farm development comprising photovoltaic (PV) panel arrays – covering an area of c. 15.7 hectares – on ground mounted steel frames, as well as an associated power trunk building and two transformer compounds, underground cabling and ducting and new internal tracks for maintenance.
The plans also include the construction of two warehouse buildings, which will both have a gross floor area of c. 3,364 sqm and a total height of c. 14.1m, on a site in the townlands of Moneybig and Bogland.
Each warehouse will have a warehousing area of c. 2,419 sqm, a reception area, an office, staff facilities, toilets, and plant and storage areas at ground floor level, with office space, meeting rooms, staff facilities, toilets, and plant and storage facilities at mezzanine level.
There will be a service yard with a security hut at the main entrance, HGV unloading areas and four associated loading bay docks on the eastern elevation of each warehouse building, with 68 car parking spaces, four of which will be accessible and 10 EV, along with 40 cycle parking spaces serving staff and visitors.
A sprinkler tank, sprinkler pump house, fire hydrant tank, hydrant pump house and ESB substation will be constructed, along with a new statcom compound and a single-storey control and valve building.
The proposed development also includes the provision of associated landscaping and planting, berms, boundary treatments, internal road network, pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, signage zones, site lighting, drainage works, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and all ancillary site development works
Site access is proposed to be via an extension of an inner relief road through the site of a permitted Crag Wicklow Limited development to the south, which comprises information and communications technology (ICT) facility buildings and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) compound with a total area of c. 1.2 hectares, which will accommodate self-contained batteries and integral fire suppression equipment, climate control equipment and associated electrical components.
A decision on Crag Wicklow Limited's latest application is due to be made by Wicklow County Council by September 2, with public submissions accepted until August 12.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish people 'complicit in genocide' if Occupied Territories Bill not enacted, Taoiseach told
Members of the public told the Taoiseach Irish people would be 'complicit in genocide' if the Government did not enact the Occupied Territories Bill and stop the sale of Israeli bonds. New documents released to the Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws show Micheál Martin was implored to fully ban imports from illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Just one email, out of a sample of 50 pieces of correspondence released, asked Mr Martin not to pass the legislation, urging him to consider 'making a political statement at the expense of real Irish workers'. The Government is progressing legislation that will ban the importation of goods from Israeli settlements in Palestine. The plans, approved by Cabinet in May, have been criticised by the opposition for not going far enough as it does not include services. Correspondence sent to the Taoiseach showed members of the public calling for the Occupied Territories Bill to be passed. One writer said 'diplomatic pressure has been put on the Government by the Americans and other Israel-aligned groups to scupper the bill'. 'But this is not the time for kowtowing to other countries' special interest groups. This is the time for clear and decisive moral action — the display of a little national dignity and backbone,' they added. Another person said the Government had 'left it too late' and should have implemented it before Donald Trump was re-elected US president. 'Stop kowtowing to this maniac, will make no difference,' they said. Another person called on the Government to 'enact the OT Bill now' and 'do whatever you can with trade embargo's' [sic]. 'As an Irish person, I am now complicit in a genocide because we are not doing enough,' they said. Another writer told Mr Martin that 'economic considerations should be set aside'. However, one concerned worker urged the Government to reconsider, adding they worked for a US multinational and expressed concerns about the impacts it would have. 'While I understand and respect the desire to express strong moral stances, it is my view that policies should be crafted with careful consideration of their practical consequences,' they said. As a citizen who cannot afford the luxury of symbolic gestures at the cost of real jobs and investment, I am asking you to reconsider the approach being taken. 'Ireland has always been proud to lead with its values on the world stage. However, the Occupied Territories Bill risks making a political statement at the expense of real Irish workers — people like me who rely on US-Ireland business relationships for our families' security.' The public also called on the Taoiseach to stop the facilitation of Israeli war bonds through the Central Bank of Ireland. The Government has stated this cannot be done under EU treaties. The Government voted against a Sinn Féin motion to end the sales. This led to further correspondence being sent to Mr Martin. Several writers said the Government was 'complicit' in Israel's genocide by not stopping the bond sales. 'Our Government's passive complicity is a stain on our proud history of standing against oppression,' one person said. Another wrote: 'While the Irish Government mostly say the right words, it's your actions — or inactions — that speak the real truth."
Irish Times
10-08-2025
- Irish Times
Trump's pharma rant puts Government in difficult position
It always sounded too good to be true. The pharma sector has been in Donald Trump's sights dating back to his first presidency and, since he returned to power, he has been vocal in his attacks on the sector, consistently threatening punitive tariffs . Then, at a stroke we were told, the US president had settled for including the sector in the 15 per cent tariff his administration was imposing on most imports from the European Union. It was so extraordinary that both sides were pressed for confirmation. Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed it was their 'clear understanding' that a maximum 15 per cent tariff would apply to exports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. READ MORE 'Once they introduce tariffs on pharma, they will be at the level of 15 per cent,' said a senior EU official involved in the talks. A White House fact sheet issued in the wake of the trade deal said: 'The European Union will pay the United States a tariff rate of 15 per cent, including on autos and auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors'. But, just one week after that deal was agreed, Mr Trump was once again raging about pharma and promising to hit the sector with tariffs of up to 250 per cent over the coming years – inconveniently name-checking Ireland alongside China as he did so. [ Taoiseach urges Trump to tread carefully on pharma tariffs Opens in new window ] It puts the sector and the Irish Government in a very difficult position. While everyone accepts Big Pharma can live with a 15 per cent tariff even if it grates, they also understand that the sort of punitive tariffs Mr Trump is now talking about will fundamentally change the dynamics of the sector – to say nothing about where it would leave patients and their insurers in the US where pharma companies are also facing a Trump-driven campaign to lower prices. And there is no way that such a pivot could be anything but bad for Ireland Inc which relies on pharma for most of its exports to the US, a sizeable chunk of its corporation tax receipts and much of the State's foreign direct investment. [ Irish exporters 'told to shut their mouths' over Trump tariffs Opens in new window ] Donald Trump says he is looking at increasing tariffs on pharma imports from Europe to between 150 per cent and 250 per cent despite agreeing a deal with the EU last month. Photograph: Haiyun Jiang/ The New York Times It puts the Government in an extremely delicate position. If pharma is not, in fact, covered by the von der Leyen trade deal, can Ireland support such a deal in any ultimate vote. On the other hand, no EU government is going to be keen to unravel a deal which was supposed to provide at least the security of certainty that would allow their economies to move forward. Uncomfortable times in Government buildings but you get the impression that discomfiting European governments costs Mr Trump not a moment's sleep.
Irish Times
07-08-2025
- Irish Times
Taoiseach urges Trump to tread carefully on pharma tariffs
US President Donald Trump needs to consider how Ireland has added value to US pharmaceutical companies operating here in any decision he might take to increase tariffs on European Union produced pharma products, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. Mr Martin said he had noted comments by President Trump that he was looking at increasing tariffs on pharma imports from Europe to between 150 per cent and 250 per cent despite agreeing a deal with the EU last month to impose 15 per cent tariffs. The US president last week signed an executive order that will implement as of Thursday a 15 per cent tariff rate on most EU products after reaching agreement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when the two leaders met in Scotland at the end of July. But Mr Trump again threatened on Tuesday to announce separate tariffs on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports 'within the next week or so' and made particular mention of Ireland in doing so during an interview with CNBC. READ MORE 'We'll be putting a initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year – one and a half years, maximum – it's going to go to 150 per cent and then it's going to go to 250 per cent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,' he said. 'They [pharmaceutical companies] make a fortune with pharmaceuticals, and they make in China and Ireland and everything else. This is a, you know, this is a separate class than the 15 per cent tariffs on sort of everything. These are excluded classes,' he said. Speaking in Caherdaniel, Co Kerry at a State commemoration to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell, Mr Martin said it was important to recognise that US pharmaceuticals had benefited from having manufacturing plants in Ireland. 'The United States has gained increasing share of the European pharmaceutical market, and indeed of many Asian markets because of their presence in those markets. These US companies are globally strong companies because of their presence in Europe. 'And Ireland, being one of the countries that they're present in Europe, has added value and strength to those companies. And I would say to the president, he has to factor that into the equation because those companies will be damaged if such [punitive tariff] policies were to bear fruit.' Mr Martin said that he was in regular contact with both European Commission president, Ursula van der Leyen and European commissioner for trade, Maros Sefcovic regarding any changes to the 15 per cent tariff deal agreed with the Trump administration, including carve outs for Ireland's whiskey sector among others.
