Data centres are going to be required to make public their carbon emissions and use of renewables, under a new draft policy from the regulator responsible for the energy sector.
The proposal is part of a decision published by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in an effort to provide “clarity” for the sector.
It has also detailed new policies for connecting data centres to the national grid.
Energy demand from the centres has risen from 5% of Ireland’s electricity in 2015, to 21% in 2023 and is forecast to reach 30% in 2032.
New centres are currently mandated to provide generation or storage to match the amount of energy they use.
In a change to the existing policy the generation or storage can be near the new centre and not just onsite.
But new data centres will also be required to supply power to the national grid at times.
Under the new policy, Eirgrid and ESB Networks must consider the location of any data centres and take into account if they are in a “constrained” region.
It said growth in the facilities has been heavily concentrated around the Dublin area which had “contributed to creating localised pressure on the electricity network.”
Eirgrid and ESB Networks will also be required to assess the appetite of data centres for further growth.
This will include asking the facilities if they can hand back any existing unused electricity capacity.
The CRU said it supports the “Government’s proposal for the development of a comprehensive plan guiding the development of data centre infrastructure in alignment with decarbonisation objectives and growing Ireland’s knowledge based economy.”
