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Irish government restricts data center development

Ireland’s The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has decided to limit the impact by imposing a de facto moratorium on new data center development in the Dublin metropolitan area.

Ireland’s national transmission operator EirGrid said in response that it would only consider new applications for grid connection on a case-by-case basis. The restrictions could reportedly last until 2028.

Martin Shanahan, CEO of Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA), recently said that new data centers “are unlikely to occur in Dublin and the East Coast at this time.”

Google has asked such Irish regulators not to impose a moratorium on data center development in the country.

In The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) filing, the company said search and cloud companies must “absolutely” avoid a moratorium on data center development.

Google said such a ban would send a “wrong signal” about Ireland’s digital economy ambitions, and would affect the country’s infrastructure, according to a Freedom of Information request first reported by The Irish Times. It adds that it makes further investment “impossible”.

In the filing, Google called for more transparency about where the Irish network has existing power capacity, as well as being clearer and more open about EirGrid’s projections of data center power usage growth. I think you need to.

Growing Demand for Cloud Computing, Google’s Proposal

Google, which launched its first data center in Ireland in 2012, has proposed a new pricing structure for data center operators who reserve more capacity than they ultimately need or grow to that capacity too slowly. bottom.

“Transmission tariffs can be designed so that consumers who are not seeing increased demand towards maximum reserved capacity will be charged more than consumers who are demonstrating an increase each year.” says.

EirGrid and politicians have previously suggested moving data center development to the west of Ireland (away from Dublin’s constrained areas and closer to renewable energy sources), but Google says this is not a viable solution. I point out that it is not.

“The demand for cloud computing in Dublin is growing. We are unable to provide services.”

Another AWS filing says Ireland has missed opportunities in the past to address supply issues.

“Over the past decade, we have had opportunities to do reinforcement work, prepare the grid for growth and investment, and prepare the grid for more intermittent integration of resources,” he said.

Both the Social Democrats and the People Before Profit parties have been calling for a nationwide moratorium on future data center projects for the past 12 months. The PBP bill was an absolute ban on data centers, liquid natural gas plants and new fossil fuel infrastructure.

In Dublin last month, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) voted to block future data center construction in the county as part of a new development plan.

What is the background behind the Irish government’s moratorium on data center development?

Irish Government Behind Data Center Development Moratorium

The Irish government’s achievement of emissions and renewable energy targets is behind this.

According to EirGrid, data center energy usage is projected to increase by 9TWh by 2030, ranging from 23% to 31% of Ireland’s grid supply in 2030. This comes at a time when the government wants to reduce emissions by 60-80% by increasing the share of renewable energy. At the same time, governments want to decarbonise by moving heating and transportation to electricity, further increasing demand on the grid.

According to The Irish Times, EirGrid has agreed to connect an additional 1.8GW of data centers to the grid, with current peak demand of around 5GW, and a further 2GW of applications ready. That’s it.

The Government Statement on the Role of Data Centers in Ireland’s Enterprise Strategy 2018, published in 2018, emphasized the positive role of data centers in the country’s economic performance. However, it will now be “aligned with sectoral emissions caps and renewable energy targets, concerns about continued security of supply, and demand flexibility measures currently needed. In order to secure it, it will be reviewed. “In addition, further tightening of regulations will be considered,” it is reported.

Will it work or will it backfire?

The Irish government imposes a moratorium on data center development, which is in high demand worldwide. It seems that the moratorium continues while receiving a warning from Google. Will this decision work or will it backfire? We will keep an eye on trends.