Ireland rejects Google investment over data center power demands

Aug 27, 2024

Jack Aylmer Energy Correspondent

By Jack Aylmer (Energy Correspondent), Jack Henry (Video Editor)

Ireland’s power grid is facing unprecedented strain, largely due to the rapid growth of data centers across the country. This mounting pressure on the nation’s electric grid has led the South Dublin County Council to reject a more than $500 million proposed data center investment by one of the world’s largest tech giants.

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Google had been planning to build this data center just outside the Irish capital of Dublin since 2011, putting over half a billion dollars towards the effort.

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The council said its decision to reject the plan was based on concerns that Google failed to provide sufficient detail on how the proposed site would impact the nation’s already-stressed power supply once it becomes operational in 2027.

Data centers, which house vast amounts of digital information and are critical to the operations of tech companies, have been taking up increasingly larger portions of the power supply from nations across the globe.

This is especially true in Ireland, where data centers consumed approximately 18% of the country’s total energy in 2022. Experts warn that this figure could rise to a third of Ireland’s electric use by 2026 if the trend continues.

Google has yet to publicly comment on the rejection of its data center plan. The company now has one month to appeal the council’s decision.

Tags: Dublin, Google, Ireland

JACK ALYMER: IRELAND’S POWER GRID IS ON THE VERGE OF BEING OVERWHELMED BY DATA CENTERS.

WITH AROUND A FIFTH OF THE COUNTRY’S ENERGY ALREADY DEDICATED TO KEEPING THEM RUNNING.

IT’S WHY THE NATION JUST LEFT ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST TECH COMPANIES HANGING ON A MORE THAN 500 MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT.

GOOGLE HAD BEEN LOOKING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER JUST OUTSIDE THE IRISH CAPITAL OF DUBLIN.

AN EFFORT THAT BEGAN BACK IN 20-11 TOWARDS WHICH THE COMPANY SAYS IT HAS INVESTED OVER A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

BUT GOOGLE’S PLAN ULTIMATELY FELL SHORT OF IRELAND’S SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS.

THE SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL RECENTLY DENIED PERMISSION FOR THE DATA CENTER TO MOVE FORWARD-
SAYING IN ITS DECISION THAT GOOGLE HADN’T PROVIDED ENOUGH DETAIL ON HOW THE PROPOSED SITE WILL IMPACT THE POWER SUPPLY ONCE OPERATIONAL IN 20-27.

WE’VE SEEN PROBLEMS WITH THE SPIKE IN ENERGY DEMANDS THAT DATA CENTERS CAN CREATE AROUND THE WORLD.

WHEN IT COMES TO IRELAND, IN 20-22, THESE FACILITIES CONSUMED ABOUT EIGHTEEN PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY’S ENERGY.

HOWEVER, EXPERTS PREDICT THAT BY JUST 20-26, THAT POWER STRAIN WILL GROW TO ENCOMPASS A THIRD OF IRELAND’S ELECTRIC USE.A SPOKESPERSON FOR GOOGLE REPORTEDLY DECLINED TO COMMIT ON THEIR DATA CENTER PLAN’S REJECTION.

THE COMPANY NOW HAS ONE MONTH TO APPEAL THE COUNCIL’S DECISION.

JACK AYLMER – STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.

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