The rapid growth of the Irish data center industry has sparked fierce debate over the country's ability to meet long-term net zero emissions targets.
According to the Irish timesGreen Party Environment Minister Eamon Ryan and Fine Gael Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney clashed at a cabinet committee meeting, with Ryan calling for future data centers that do not have their own to be scrapped. carbon neutral energy sources. blocked.
Coveney, however, strongly opposed this, stating that it was not agreed government policy.
Meanwhile, Labour's climate spokesperson, Senator Rebecca Moynihan, joined the discussion, suggesting that the proliferation of data centers in Ireland threatens the country's ability to meet climate emissions targets.
“Following reports of a dispute between Eamon Ryan and Simon Coveney over the development of new data centres, it is clear that Fine Gael has yet to catch up on the climate crisis,” Moynihan said.
“The predominance of [(Industrial Development Agency] “IDA policy should not take precedence over government policy, especially when it comes to environmental sustainability.”
Moynihan called for plans to develop new data centers to be paused until lawmakers can establish a “full understanding of the impact they are having on our environment and infrastructure.”
“We have been calling for a moratorium on new data centers until we fully understand their impact,” he said.
Moynihan called for an expert working group to be created to try to ensure future development aligns with the country's climate goals, which call for carbon emissions to be cut in half by 2030.
The growth of the Irish data center industry has sparked previous concerns
The proliferation of data centers in the country, driven by the presence of so many large technology companies, has been a cause of concern for some time.
Figures from Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that data center electricity consumption increased by a third between 2021 and 2022, and by 400% since 2015.
This, he said, meant that the proportion of metered electricity consumed by data centers increased from 5% of the national total in 2015 to 18% in 2022.
“The increase in consumption was driven by a combination of existing data centers using more electricity and new data centers being added to the grid,” said Niamh Shanahan, a statistician in the CSO's environment and climate division.
“Large energy users with very high consumption represented 27% of the total consumption measured in 2022.”
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of the expected increase in the country's electricity demand between 2021 and 2025 will come from large energy users, such as data centers, Moynihan said, which is “completely unsustainable.”
New rules introduced in 2021 require permission for new data centers to be granted only to those with a suitable location, the ability to use backup generators, and the ability to reduce power consumption when requested.
Otherwise, there was a risk that the situation would lead to load shedding and rolling blackouts, the energy regulator warned at the time.
“We need to ensure that data center development in Ireland is sustainable and does not come at the expense of our environment,” Moynihan said. “We can't afford to wait any longer.”
