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Technology corporations must “work inside climate limits,” Ireland's environment minister warned, as the favored data center hub struggles to address a flood of energy-intensive systems.
Eamon Ryan, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, said he had met with “all the key (technology) corporations” recently as pressure grows on national energy systems to address the large burden of computing power required to run generative artificial intelligence.
According to the International Energy Agency, global electricity demand from data centers is predicted to no less than double by 2026, raising concerns that the world will struggle to cut back greenhouse gas emissions from energy production.
There are over 80 data centers in Ireland, most of them within the Dublin area. These are situated partly due to the fiber optic connection to the US and Europe, but additionally due to the cool climate and clean water.
However, as a consequence of energy shortages, the country was forced to impose a de facto ban on latest construction within the Greater Dublin area from 2021.
More than a fifth of the electricity will probably be consumed by data centers in 2023 – or greater than the complete electricity demand of households in cities and municipalities combined.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ryan said Ireland desires to “promote data centres and be certain that we will do this in a way that works for businesses.”
“But it must also work inside the climate limits to which we’ve committed ourselves and it must fit into the grid that’s capable of ensure a secure electricity supply.”
He added: “It is a technical challenge. It is an economic challenge, but I don't think any sector can escape the climate challenge that all of us face.”
Amazon Web Services, which has significant facilities in Ireland, announced last week that it could spend £8 billion within the UK over five years constructing data centres and announced further projects in Europe, although outside Ireland.
Ireland's regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, is predicted to publish a report in October outlining the country's future policy on large energy interconnections.
Ryan, who resigned as Green Party leader earlier this yr and announced he wouldn’t stand in Ireland's next election, expressed hope that the policy would play a task in setting international standards to take climate limits under consideration.
He said data center owners should put money into their very own renewable energy and battery storage facilities and give attention to “flexibility and demand response capabilities” in how they use electricity.
Last week, Ryan met along with his British counterpart Ed Miliband and discussed constructing more interconnectors to link the electricity grids between the 2 islands to encourage the promotion of renewable energy. He said the Greenlink cable, the third interconnector between Britain and Ireland, was expected to be ready next month.
Ryan argued that energy was one in all the important thing areas where Britain and Ireland could “reset” their relationship after years of tensions over Brexit.
“The change of presidency now offers us the chance to work together,” he said, referring to the Labour Party’s election victory in Britain this summer.
Earlier this yr, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Belgium signed an agreement to develop Europe's first hybrid electricity interconnector between three countries.
By 2030, Ireland desires to have enough renewable energy to find a way to export the excess. “The island uses about 5 GW at midday,” he said. “We may have 13 terawatt hours of surplus renewable electricity. We are searching for customers for that.”
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