“Apple has chosen the ‘wrong site’ for its proposed €850 million data centre near Athenry, Co Galway, according to a group of residents who have objected to the planning application,” Lorna Siggins reports for The Irish Times. “Energy use concerns, impact of noise on a local primary school and on bird life, and the potential for a ‘greenway’ cycle route are among the issues raised in a number of submissions on the project lodged with Galway County Council. Residents of Lisheenkyle, near Oranmore in Co Galway, are critical of the environmental impact statement (EIS) accompanying Apple’s planning application, which seeks approval for a 24,505sqm single-storey data centre building, along with logistics, administration, maintenance and security buildings in the townland of Palmerstown and Toberroe near Athenry.”
“The company had promised an ‘outdoor classroom’ for Lisheenkyle National School, which backs up onto the woodland area. The 227-pupil school already has a ‘seomra na coille,’ or ‘eco-classroom, and its own 11kw wind turbine for its energy needs,” Siggins reports. “However, the group of Lisheenkyle residents, which includes parents with children in the school, state that the EIS is ‘inadequate’ as it does not deal with issues of noise and vibration from ‘traffic generation’ and the running of 18 generators.”
“The provision of a ‘greenway’ is also raised in submissions from Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins and the Sligo Mayo Greenway and Western rail trail campaigns. Ms Higgins says that the ‘greenway’ would allow for sustainable transport commuting by staff and would link into the national cycle network, including the Dublin-Galway route currently under construction,” Siggins reports. “She says that Apple should be asked to consider contributing funding for the cycleway/walkway, and suggests the potential for ‘naming rights.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Naming rights? (rolls eyes)
Hopefully, this will all work out to everyone’s satisfaction.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s strong commitment to the environment sets a powerful example for other companies – May 15, 2015
Apple to invest €1.7 billion to build two new european data centers – February 23, 2015
To paraphrase the greatest president the U.S. has seen since Washington, Ronald Wilson Reagan:
If the busybodies with too much time on their hands had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to the country, Ireland wouldn’t exist. It’d still be waiting for an environmental impact statement.
Warren G. Harding showed great promise too, but tragically died in office before accomplishing much of anything. Ah, the vicissitudes of life and politics…
At his death, Harding was one of the most popular US presidents ever. My grandmother wept at his funeral procession. My mother was a girl at the time and still has her lapel pin with his cameo. Stores and banks closed, and the Post Office issued a black-edged memorial postage stamp.
Later, historians reviled him because of the Tammany Hall scandal, just as historians reviled Grant for Teapot Dome, Nixon for Watergate, and Reagan for Iran-Contra. There are many other examples. How about Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts, or Buchanan and the Dred Scott decision?
The only reason historians are not targeted for defunding of federal research grants is because people, inluding politicians, have short memories. And thank God for that, and thank the founding fathers for devising a system immune to tampering. Mostly.
Here is what apple should do….
They might also ask for free wifi, no doubt.
That site is really meant for a new Apple HQ. That Cupertino building is just a rouse.
And I thought NIMBY’s were a US phenomenon.
The do-gooders love to spend OPM or, at least, dictate how OPMis spent. (OPM = Other People’s Money)
Some things are obviously hard to discern MDN.
In one fell swoop, Apple settles the coming EU ‘localised’ Data Protection requirements, the argument over ‘investment’ in Ireland v the Double Dutch tax avoidance accusations, balances Ireland’s foreign inward investment books, provides jobs in a depressed economy and offsets it’s current and future tax liabilities.
Brilliant.
Meant to add…
I see precisely ‘zero’ chance of a rejection of an €850 investment.
Negotiating is the art of getting most of what you want while convincing the other side that they are getting even more.
Of course the level headed irish,….
Eighteen generators? Traffic noise? The center would employ about 100 people after it is complete. Since data centers run 24/7, only about 25 of those workers would be present at any time. That’s not a lot of traffic. In other, unreported news, Apple is seeking partners in six renewable energy projects, costing an additional $400M, to power the data center. What are the eighteen generators about?
This seems like a combination of slanted reporting and an attempt to put the local hands deeper into Apples pockets. Scotland might be a viable alternative
I think they are conflating the construction project with the operational data center. If you don’t want to build anything to bring 100 clean jobs to town, just declare your desire to remain backwards and stop wasting the futures time.
This comes off as blackmail for ridiculous purposes.
Better idea: Athenry, Co Galway should remain agrarian. Enjoy.
Hey i know some places that would just love to host it.