Data centres back in the spotlight-using 18% of total power consumption of the country

So People Against Datacentres, are you against the datacentres, or are you against datacenters in your backyard?

Data centres are not going to draw less power when the grid is under stress - they are commercial outfits which will not reduce their service for the good of the country.

They are nothing more than a vampire industry, in that the benefit of having a data centre here (as opposed to elsewhere in Europe) is the employment generated during construction, and then a few cleaners and security staff once they're built. The drawback being a huge drain on our limited energy resources.

The reason we have so many and are such a destination is because other countries do not want them, whereas Ireland Inc. invited them all in, ignored all the warnings, and now here we are.

That's a different problem not related to datacentres. Domestic energy and fuel should not have any tax on top of VAT, there should be no carbon tax and no excise duty on basic needs.

The data centre entities surveyed as part of the Grant Thornton study for IDA Ireland indicate a total economic impact of over €7 billion since 2010 (including direct economic impact of €4.54 billion indirectly). Almost 1,000 suppliers have been contracted by data centres with 77 percent domestically based, benefiting from 90 percent of the total expenditure.

Taken from the report provided in the opening post, which is largely positive about the overall impact and importance of data centres to the Irish economy.

As for their energy usage, when put in it’s proper context, data centres are a singular entity in both the services and industrial sector, which still uses less energy than the transport and logistics sector -

https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-statistics/energy-use-overview/

What Michael Healy Rae is interested in isn’t just jobs, but he’s also interested in ensuring Government are working towards the future of energy generation and sustainability in Ireland -

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2023-02-21/158/?highlight%5B0%5D=coal

He does make the rather more obvious point in this interview though, stating that you can’t make an omelette without cracking a few eggs -

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22262868/

I’d imagine there are a few contracted catering, security and facilities staff are wondering could they cook an omelette in a data centre in this weather 😁

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62202125.amp

It isn't really.

Datacentres can dictate where at least some of their energy comes from. The likes of Amazon or Microsoft will land into a windfarm and tell them they want their energy exclusively for the next decade at this set price + % fluctuations, not only that with the money you receive we want the energy from the other farm you build beside it on the same terms. Then they get to put a green leaf on their website.

You or I can't.

If we are not meeting our emission targets it will be the further stick until it gets to the point where there is nothing left to save and then you are squarely into energy poverty.

But again it's basic maths, domestic users are down 9%, datacentres are up 31%.

It's completely unsustainable. Again that isn't just my opinion, it has been flagged for years.

18%, my tired typo intimidated 4% …centres accounted for 18% of total energy consumption in 2022 according to the latest CSO figures …

So for all the people saying the energy is not there... where have all these blackouts been happening due to a lack of energy because of datacenters? I certainly haven't noticed them. They pay for the energy they use the same as any other business, they produce jobs as has been mentioned, in some cases they can help load balance the grid and they are a fundamentally important piece of infrastructure without which none of us would be able to post on this site amongst many other things.

Ireland is a good location because of our geography and climate and it is better for the world as a whole for data centres to be located in areas where they don't need as much cooling and are less likely to be subject to extreme weather events. Ireland isn't the only country with optimal conditions, but we're far from being the only country with a lot of data centres too.

Here is an article that outlines the issues seen in the US or even as close as London where consistently hotter weather than here has created actual genuine problems with real knock on impacts for both the data centres and the power grids at their locations. The article even cites data centres in Dublin as being examples of how to do it sustainably, unlike the ones in those countries which are struggling.

Eh, exporting electricity? Surely, it would be better to sell that electricity to data centres located here and you have to source their electricity here rather than exporting it to other countries who might be able to buy electricity from somebody else?

It is probably the height of irony to see internet discussions arguing against data centres. You can't have an internet discussion without a data centre.

Ireland is one of the best locations worldwide for data centres. Our relatively benign weather, neither too hot and requiring excessive cooling, or too cold requiring heating, is key.

We are also the location where many of the international interconnectors come ashore, making it logical that data centres be based here.

Finally, as we move towards renewable energy, if we can boost up offshore wind as planned, we will have plenty of surplus electricity to be used in data centres.

What I have yet to hear from any single data centre objector is another location where they are better suited.

Yes, electricity and water.

If the data centres move on - we're left selling it to who? pharma maybe, if we're lucky. Farmers certainly don't need that sort of power.

Exporting it to Europe, or to our nearest neighbour makes far more sense in the long term.

That just supports what I was saying. The energy is there, and it's being taken into account when it comes to future expansions to ensure it never expands beyond what we have the capacity for. Exactly how it should be and exactly why we aren't suffering any negative effects, so where's the problem?

But Ireland isn't paying for the running of these data centres!!! The data centres are paying for themselves!!!

Ireland pays the infrastructural costs - data centre electricity rates do not cover the cost of generation infrastructure required. Neither do any capital costs they pay upfront either.

Link please to show this. Last I checked, Eirgrid was profitable.

But it isn't static it is variable.

We are committed to 80% renewable electricity in 6/7 years.

It's currently sub 40%. You increase consumption that figure falls further, or the very least the effort to increase it becomes harder. Even now we are creaking.

A huge number of jobs here and elsewhere are dependent on data centers

Ireland is one of the best places in the world to build them

Our grid generation is down over the past few years (we closed plants), which skews the numbers somewhat

Data centers and other big users have backup power, and are first to be told to use it in the event of a power shortage, long before ordinary people in their homes are cut off

We don't get hurricanes and tornados

We don't get temperatures above 30 degrees

We don't get temperatures below minus 10 degrees

We don't get earthquakes

We don't have volcanoes

Name a better location.

Last I checked ESB were also profit-making. Are you aware of any State-owned electricity company losing money?

In what way is the State losing money on data centres?

That is being pushed , grid power when its available ( including wind energy ) ,possibly using batteries as a buffer, and their own gas plants for when the wind isnt blowing , allowing the country to ramp up wind generation , without having to pay to build as many new gas stations as back up , because the data center builds it instead .

Of course they are. Entities like ESB and eirgrid have fairly specific functions in the electricity markets as a whole. The state itself subsidises electricity generators in this country.

Things like RESS strike prices - a defacto government subsidy of renewable electricity prices, have much more of an impact. As state subsidises generators (not just renewables but primarily), any increase in demand and subsequently more generation needed, will mean more money lost by the state through subsidies.