Government set to shift policy for data centre power

Investors may be permitted to build a cable linking to stations burning natural gas for a time-limited period and in exceptional cases only

Meta's data centre in Clonee, Co Meath. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Ireland is set to green-light policies that allow data centres to use fossil fuels to power their operations, a shift that highlights the tension between economic growth and climate goals.

Developers have been lacking official guidance about how they could enact a February proposal by the regulator that would effectively give way to computing hubs to generate their own power using fossil fuels.