Ireland's electricity network operator EirGrid has warned ministers of a possible "mass exodus" of data centers from the country without new connection agreements.
Reported by the Irish Independent, EirGrid in a presentation for the government noted that it has been warning about power supply issues since 2016 and had raised the issue to the Minister for Transport in 2021.
Technology companies in the country are, according to EirGrid, getting uneasy and the network operator is being "continually asked" about the likelihood of connection agreements.
Ireland has had a de facto moratorium on data center developments in the greater Dublin area with EirGrid saying it would not accept any applications until 2028 due to a lack of capacity.
Companies have been seeking alternative options within the area – including connections to the country’s gas network and running data centers off on-site gas power plants, and last month Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Climate, and Communications, Eamon Ryan, received government approval for two memos that would enable private companies such as data center operators to build their own energy transmission infrastructure.
This is not always a viable option for data center developments, however, and without the ability to connect to the grid, EirGrid is concerned that projects may simply look elsewhere.
The briefing warned ministers: “The big concern is that some of the large data centers decide to exit Ireland and that, in turn, leads to a mass exodus (as has happened previously in other technology sectors)."
Should this happen, it would impact the government’s desire to "benefit from the next phase of technological development in the ICT sector in Ireland (AI etc.)”
EirGrid has said that Ireland needs a "credible transition plan" and work should be done on deciding which projects are critical.
The power operator also pointed out the impracticality of requiring data centers to be "zero carbon," drawing a comparison to saying "Dublin Airport can grow passenger numbers if they use ‘zero carbon” aircraft.” The operator posits that no zero-carbon data center propositions exist today, and instead, they should work with operators committed to ongoing improvements.
A spokesperson for EirGrid said: "We recognize that electricity supply is only one consideration in setting large energy user connection policy, which requires a holistic and plan-led approach taking account of all challenges and opportunities.
“In regards to future connections, while EirGrid participates in calls to support policy development, the connection of large energy users to the transmission system is currently aligned and will in future continue to align with the relevant direction from the CRU [Commission for Regulation of Utilities]. EirGrid acts as directed in this area.”
In July 2024, Ciaran Forde, commercial vice-president for data center operations at Eaton’s EMEA region noted that Ireland risked missing out on the AI data center boom if it failed to resolve its grid problems.
Eaton alone has seen its Irish data center business lose 80 percent of its revenue over the last four years.
According to recently released data, Irish data centers used more than 21 percent of the nation's total metered electricity in 2023, up from just five percent in 2015.
