Ireland’s Red Admiral Gets Green Light for €1 Billion Data Center and Solar Farm in Westmeath
June 16, 2026
Ireland’s Red Admiral Gets Green Light for €1 Billion Data Center and Solar Farm in Westmeath
Irish data center developer Red Admiral has secured planning approval from Westmeath County Council to build a massive data center campus and solar farm on a 600-acre site in central Ireland, marking a significant expansion of the country’s digital infrastructure amid growing tensions over energy consumption.
The council approved the project on June 2. The 250MW campus will consist of six data center buildings, each measuring 14,000 square meters (150,694 square feet), spread across 96 acres. A solar farm located east of the facility will occupy 415 acres and will include a battery energy storage system. Red Admiral estimates the total development cost at €1 billion ($1.16 billion).
The solar farm will use fuel cells supplied by SK ecoplant, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate SK Group. The campus will be built on land parcels west of the village of Rochfortbridge, bounded by the Monagh River to the north, Kiltotan and Collinstown to the south, Farthingstown to the east, and Gneevebane to the west.
Reports of a 250MW facility first surfaced in November 2023, and Red Admiral formally submitted plans in December 2024. However, the proposal has drawn significant opposition. According to local records, 70 submissions were lodged against the project, citing concerns about environmental impact, the suitability of a data center in a rural setting, and the strain on Ireland’s already overburdened power grid.
Red Admiral is a subsidiary of Irish energy firm Lumcloon Energy, which already has a presence in Rochfortbridge. The parent company is developing a 65MW battery storage facility and a 275MW natural gas power plant in the area.
Ireland’s data center energy challenges have become particularly acute. According to a report released by the country’s Central Statistics Office in June 2025, data centers now account for approximately 20 percent of Ireland’s metered electricity consumption. This has fueled a fierce backlash against the industry. In July 2025, Ireland’s National Trust appealed against planning permission granted to a data center in County Louth. In May, bestselling author Sally Rooney and others contested Mayo County Council’s decision to permit a new data center by developer Avaio.
The approval for Red Admiral’s project comes at a pivotal moment for Ireland’s data center sector, as operators seek to balance rapid digital expansion with mounting public and regulatory scrutiny over energy use and environmental sustainability.
Source: datacenterdynamics
