OGCIO Backweston Data Centre, Celbridge
approved CampusOperated by Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
State data centre at the Backweston Campus, Celbridge, developed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer; permission granted with conditions by An Coimisiún Pleanála in March 2020.
Land use jurisdiction: Kildare County Council
Measurements on record
No disclosed measurements on record yet.
Permitting path
Approvals on record for 1 of 12 path steps; latest: Planning permission (2020-03-11).
Ireland's path runs grid-first: under the CRU's Large Energy Users Connection Policy (CRU/25/236, December 2025, replacing the 2021 data centre connection direction), a new connection offer requires dispatchable generation or storage matched to the facility's import capacity and a commitment to source at least 80 percent of annual demand from new Irish renewable generation within six years of energisation. Planning permission sits with the local authority in the first instance (the 2018 provision routing large data centres directly to the national planning body is not yet commenced), with appeals to An Coimisiun Pleanala, and environmental impact assessment where screening requires it. Uisce Eireann water and wastewater connections, building control certificates, and an EPA industrial emissions licence for standby fleets over 50 MW thermal complete the path.
| Date | Step | Authority | Instrument | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-11 | Planning permission | An Coimisiún Pleanála | An Coimisiún Pleanála PL09.305962, grant permission with conditions
An Coimisiún Pleanála PL09.305962, grant permission with conditions |
on record |
| Site control (title or lease) | Tailte Éireann | not yet requested | ||
| Grid connection application | EirGrid | not yet requested | ||
| Connection offer and agreement | EirGrid | not yet requested | ||
| Dispatchable generation or storage matched to import capacity applies for new connection applications under the 2025 policy |
Commission for Regulation of Utilities | not yet requested | ||
| Renewables matching commitment (80 percent in six years) applies for new connection applications under the 2025 policy |
Commission for Regulation of Utilities | not yet requested | ||
| Strategic infrastructure pre-application consultation applies where an associated Seventh Schedule class, such as large scale onsite generation, routes the application to An Coimisiun Pleanala; the data centre specific route is not yet commenced |
An Coimisiún Pleanála | not yet requested | ||
| Environmental impact assessment applies where screening determines significant effects are likely |
Kildare County Council | not yet requested | ||
| Uisce Eireann wastewater connection | Uisce Éireann | not yet requested | ||
| Uisce Eireann water connection agreement | Uisce Éireann | not yet requested | ||
| Building control (commencement notice; fire safety and disability access certificates) | Kildare County Council | not yet requested | ||
| EPA industrial emissions licence applies where standby generation crosses licensing thresholds |
Environmental Protection Agency | not yet requested | ||
| Go-live | not yet live |
Steps without a record are shown as not yet requested or not on record: absence of a record here is a records gap, not a finding about the facility. An authority shown for an empty step is the body that would issue it.
Site control comes first in every path: a proponent must hold a deed, lease, or purchase option on every parcel of the site before it can apply. Parcel and ownership records have not yet been pulled for this facility.
About this path and the law behind each step: law.ungovr.org/compute/ie
Location and sources
Celbridge, Kildare County Council, Ireland
Sources: An Coimisiún Pleanála case PL09.305962
Every record links to its source: openly licensed datasets (Epoch AI, CC BY; Wikidata, CC0; US EPA, public domain) and public permit records. Full sourcing and licensing: methodology · sources.