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LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul 2024
MINISTER EAMON RYAN refuted the idea of clamping down on data centres amid a 20% rise in electricity consumption from data centres from 2022 to 2023.
Across the four quarters of 2022, 5,270 Gigawatt hours (GWh) were recorded. In 2023, 6,334 GWh were recorded, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy equalling one kilowatt of power sustained over an hour – an electric heater would use this amount of energy.
A GWh is equivalent to one million kWh.
The CSO released new data this morning on electrical consumption in 2023, in which it says that 5% of metered electricity was consumed by data centres in 2015, increasing to 18% in 2022, and reaching 21% in 2023.
Urban dwellings’ consumption levels fell by 1% from 2022 to 18% last year, while rural dwellings remained at 10%.
It means that data centres now consume more electricity than all the homes in Irish cities combined.
The former Green Party leader, who announced his departure from the role last month, said that Ireland “needs data centres”.
“They’re part of our economy, they bring real benefits,” he told reporters at the celebration of 40 years of the DART at the Grand Canal DART Station earlier today.
“Look at where we are. We’re in the Docklands area where we’ve huge employment and huge benefits from having us be the centre of the digital industry,” he said.
He said that data centres “have to live within the climate limits” that Ireland has as well as within “the power and grid limits”.
“That’s something that the Commission for Regulation of Utilities is coming out with their connection policy, recognising that we do want data centres, but it has to live within our energy and our climate limits.
“And that’s what we can and will manage and do,” he said.
Total metered electricity consumption was up by 2.5% in 2023 compared with 2022.
Earlier this month, a report stated that Google’s planned data centre in South Dublin would contribute over 220,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year in the short term. 80% of the electricity grid would be renewable by 2030 in accordance with CAP24, the report said.
People Before Profit’s Environment spokesperson, TD Paul Murphy, has called for an immediate ban on new data centres and strict limits on electricity consumption by existing centres.
“The government has refused to place any real limits on data centre development despite repeated warnings from Eirgrid, the CRU, the government’s Climate Advisory Council and the Department of Enterprise that data centre growth is out of control,” he said.
He said that People Before Profit is promising to stand alongside local people in Grangecastle, where the proposed Google data centre is to be developed, “to fight tooth and nail to block this ecocidal megaproject”.
All renewable energy that comes on stream in the coming years needs to be ring-fenced for ‘essential needs’ rather than ‘wasted’ on data centres, he added.
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#COYGIG!! Fantastic evening for soccer in Ireland.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: Really great win.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: you are right, amazing performance. You kind of wonder why they couldnt pull it out for the other games though. Still it will give them great confidence going to the playoffs.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: its a shame you’re not very consistent AND you think FG have overseen some massive recovery in Ireland that they havent
@S Suilleabhain: What has that got to do with his COYGIG comment and this article? Was a comment of his deleted from this page?
@Setanta O’Toole: For the same reason probably that the Ireland’s men’s team would be lucky to win any match if they were in the same group as the 2nd, 3rd and 6th raned teams in the world i.e. France, Belguim and Portugal.
@Injustice Cop: he was odious to me & nasty and is routinely. I’ll say what I like and dont regard him as anything like a decent Irishman
strange username you have there, ironic.
Well done indeed ladies .
Brilliant result. Really attacked today and that goal v England gave them the emputis to push on in this game. Super venue also.
Brilliant! Well done everyone – delighted for you all
Great result for Mna na hEireann
To be fair. This was a great win against a top women’s team. Maybe now they realise that they are better then they think and give them a boost for the next time. Well done ladies.
Well done, great to see them finally getting a well-deserved win. Hope sign of things to come for them.
@ S Suilleabhain: You are pathetic. On an article concerning a great victory for our Women’s National Team you somehow have to bring completely unrelated politics into. How does it feel to have failed so miserable in life? There ar3 people all around you, from every part of the country have successfully made a decent life for themselves under the same circumstances you had to live under. You are a bitter failure. The soo wrong you take responsibility for your life the sooner things will improve for you. As long as you bitterly whinge and moan you will always be a miserable failure. Wise up.
Coolaboola
Great performance. I’m having a piece of humble pie for lunch!
have your say