Data centres: Industry body calls for timeline on energy policy

Digital Infrastructure Ireland says we could miss out on investment if CRU does not clarify proposed new regulatory framework

In February, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities published a proposal on rules for connecting data centres to the electricity grid but a final decision on this has yet to be made.

Industry body Digital Infrastructure Ireland has called on the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to release a firm timeline on its policy for data centres saying Ireland could “miss the next phase of investment into digital developments”.

With the increasing investment in AI infrastructure, many multinational tech companies are massively scaling up their data centre capacity. However, data centres require a significant amount of energy and concerns have been raised about their increasing demand on Ireland’s electricity network and contribution to carbon emissions.

In February, the CRU published a proposal on rules for connecting data centres to the grid but a final decision on this has yet to be made.

Digital Infrastructure Ireland chairman Maurice Mortell said Ireland needs to “commit to certainty on its data centre policy quickly, otherwise it will miss the next phase of investment into digital developments.

“Unless Ireland moves quickly to resolve this uncertainty, our reputation as a top destination for foreign direct investment and as a global technology leader will be undermined, especially as AI investment is rapidly scaling globally,” he said.

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Mr Mortell said it is “essential” that the Department of Energy, Eirgrid, ESB Networks, and Gas Networks Ireland work with stakeholders to “create collaborative solutions” to this issue.

“Unless Ireland establishes a coherent and predictable regulatory framework that balances decarbonisation and competitiveness, its position as a global leader in digital infrastructure will be undermined.”

Under the proposal, the CRU said new data centres connecting to the electricity network would have to continue to provide enough electricity generation and/or storage capacity to meet its own demand as a back-up — in line with current policy.

But this energy generation or storage would no longer be required to be onsite, and could instead be located near the data centre.

The proposed regulations would also require new data centres to feed the energy it generates or stores into the general electricity market.

Under the proposed policy document, Eirgrid and ESB Networks would also have to examine any existing constraints on local electricity networks when considering the location of a requested data centre connection.