Decision on Apple's Irish data center plans expected by end of August

Posted:
in iCloud
An Bord Plean?la -- an independent appeals review body -- said it will likely make its decision on Apple's Irish data center by the end of the month, either greenlighting the company's development plans, or potentially causing delays.

Inside an Apple data center.
Inside an Apple data center.


The inspector on the project, Stephen Kay, has submitted his recommendations for the board's final deliberations, according to Ireland'a Galway Bay FM. Kay's report won't be made public until An Bord Plean?la makes a ruling, but should suggest what changes if any Apple will need to make.

Apple initially won permission for the data center in September, but quickly encountered appeals from local residents and organizations, concerned about issues such as environmental impact and traffic congestion.

If Apple's plans are unmodified in any serious way, the facility will span 24,500 square meters (over 263,700 square feet) by the town of Athenry, and cost some ?850 million (approximately $944.3 million). It will fill a critical gap in Apple's cloud infrastructure, since the company has yet to launch any European data centers. A Danish center is also in development -- both facilities are intended to start operations in 2017.

In announcing the Athenry complex in 2015, Apple made some early promises to make development more appealing, including the construction of a walking trail, an "outdoor education space" for area schools, and the restoration of native trees to Derrydonnell Forest.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    holyoneholyone Posts: 398member
    Apple build you're system underground to take advantage of thermal conditions that way you can build anywhere simple
  • Reply 2 of 11
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    holyone said:
    Apple build you're system underground to take advantage of thermal conditions that way you can build anywhere simple
    In this instance they are building above ground and in Ireland, precisely to take advantage of thermal conditions.  Building anything below ground here would require considerable extra expense making things watertight.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    holyoneholyone Posts: 398member
    cnocbui said:
    holyone said:
    Apple build you're system underground to take advantage of thermal conditions that way you can build anywhere simple
    In this instance they are building above ground and in Ireland, precisely to take advantage of thermal conditions.  Building anything below ground here would require considerable extra expense making things watertight.
    But the benefits of build anywhere, for an infrastructure this important to a company like apple outwaghs any downsides. Besides howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?
  • Reply 4 of 11
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
  • Reply 5 of 11
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    cpsro said:
    Good information. Obama worshippers should pay attention.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Apple may want to hold off on those plans to expand in Ireland. If Trump is elected, he is pushing for a 15% tax rate for US businesses.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    holyone said:
    cnocbui said:
    In this instance they are building above ground and in Ireland, precisely to take advantage of thermal conditions.  Building anything below ground here would require considerable extra expense making things watertight.
    But the benefits of build anywhere, for an infrastructure this important to a company like apple outwaghs any downsides. Besides howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?
    Apple are building the data center in Ireland mainly because the cool climate means they can cool the data center with ambient air which has an annual average temperature of 10° C.  This will allow them to save a fortune in electricity not needed for airconditioning.

    " howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?" Lol!  About 50%, probably.  Well actually they are now on a computer sitting in New York that is pretending it's overseas and still in Ireland.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    holyoneholyone Posts: 398member
    cnocbui said:
    holyone said:
    But the benefits of build anywhere, for an infrastructure this important to a company like apple outwaghs any downsides. Besides howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?
    Apple are building the data center in Ireland mainly because the cool climate means they can cool the data center with ambient air which has an annual average temperature of 10° C.  This will allow them to save a fortune in electricity not needed for airconditioning.

    " howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?" Lol!  About 50%, probably.  Well actually they are now on a computer sitting in New York that is pretending it's overseas and still in Ireland.
    You are only emphasizing the point I am trying to make, temperatures underground are I suspect even lower than 10 degrees Celsius thus if the issue is lower temperatures then that is more exploitable underground the question of lower electricity costs is moot since nether approach would change that aspect in any meaningful way. What I'm saying is apple is going to Ireland because the weather there is advantageous to data centers but if the need is cool condition an't those readily available underground everywhere? sure it might involve thermal transmission infrastructure to off load the heat to the surrounding ground but apple could build non land scape destructive centers anywhere .
  • Reply 9 of 11
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    holyone said:
    cnocbui said:
    Apple are building the data center in Ireland mainly because the cool climate means they can cool the data center with ambient air which has an annual average temperature of 10° C.  This will allow them to save a fortune in electricity not needed for airconditioning.

    " howmany apple billions are in Ireland again?" Lol!  About 50%, probably.  Well actually they are now on a computer sitting in New York that is pretending it's overseas and still in Ireland.
    You are only emphasizing the point I am trying to make, temperatures underground are I suspect even lower than 10 degrees Celsius thus if the issue is lower temperatures then that is more exploitable underground the question of lower electricity costs is moot since nether approach would change that aspect in any meaningful way. What I'm saying is apple is going to Ireland because the weather there is advantageous to data centers but if the need is cool condition an't those readily available underground everywhere? sure it might involve thermal transmission infrastructure to off load the heat to the surrounding ground but apple could build non land scape destructive centers anywhere .
    The temperature underground closely matches the annual average temperature.

     At soil depths greater than 30 feet below the surface, the soil temperature is relatively constant, and corresponds roughly to the water temperature measured in groundwater wells 30 to 50 feet deep. This is referred to as the “mean earth temperature.”

    The annual average temperature in Sydney is about 20° C.  Put a data center 10m down and it will be about 20° C, not 10 or lower.


  • Reply 10 of 11

    Mmm ... I hear they plan to call it Appleton Abbey  :)

  • Reply 11 of 11
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Mmm ... I hear they plan to call it Appleton Abbey  :)

    And they'll have free apple cider on tap.
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