Data centre demands for gas connections 'could damage Ireland's emissions targets'

The number of Irish data centres' requests for gas connections has risen in each of the last three years. Stock picture

Data centre operators are requesting connections to gas networks to fire their own generators because they cannot connect to the national electricity grid, prompting warnings about emissions and energy security.

Figures seen by the Irish Examiner show that demand for gas connections from data centres has risen each year from 2019 to 2021, while the chairwoman of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) told an Oireachtas committee on Tuesday that Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) had flagged the issue because it could create higher than anticipated demand for gas.