Data centres could double usage

THE data centres draining the most energy from the national grid could double their electricity consumption.

Figures show that the 12 biggest data centres currently demand just over 500 megawatts in electricity.

However, a spokesman for EirGrid confirmed to the Irish Daily Mail the total capacity they have been contracted for is more than 900 megawatts of energy.

The centres are connected to the national grid through EirGrid transmission and the ESB Networks distribution system.

A large data centre is one that requires more than ten megawatts of energy, but the current demand of the 12 biggest centres is 50 times that figure. It comes after the CSO revealed that last year data centres consumed more electricity than rural homes in Ireland.

Social Democrats co-founder Catherine Murphy told the Mail the Government must act and put in place a moratorium on data centres here amid concerns over energy supplies due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

She said: ‘We’re potentially going into a crisis scenario where we’re going to have limited power. We’re going to have to decide where that power is going to be distributed. You start wondering if people will be able to heat their homes, if they’ll be able to cook their dinner. I don’t think we’ve properly evaluated this. If there was a call for a moratorium last year, there’s even more now because the scenario has changed.’

Earlier this year, a moratorium on connecting new data centres in the Dublin region was confirmed.

The EirGrid spokesman said that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which regulates electricity in Ireland, issued directions last year around new data centres.

He added: ‘We must now consider the ability of a new data centre to bring its own generation, and whether it is in a constrained area, before issuing a connection offer.’