Data centres and electricity - negatives outweigh positives

THE KEANE EDGE COLUMN: By Nathan Keane

THE cost of living is the most prominent and troubling challenge facing the people of this country today. In a recent poll in the Sunday Independent, nearly half of participants (49%) cited the cost of living as a key issue, when asked to pick two options.

It is a matter which rears its head in many different forms. One of the most frequently devastated sectors that the cost of living crisis infects is energy - which has been plagued for quite some time, and shows very few signs of remission.

The stark fact is, Ireland has the highest average household electricity prices in the European Union. Irish electricity prices are currently at around 40.4 cents per kilowatt per hour. This figure is nearly 40% above the EU average.

There are a number of elements that contribute to this exorbitant fee. Some of which are outside of the government's control - such as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which shows no believable signs of stopping.

Excluding these external causes, there are solutions that can be implemented to solve this problem. The most obvious of these is renewable energy.

Renewable energy has become a very popular catchphrase, but lesser so as a visible call to action. This needs to change.

We should be pushing to get as many solar panels up across the country as possible, especially on houses and sheds. Homeowners can receive a grant of up to €1,800 for installing these panels. These grants help to alleviate the up front fee - which is made up for by the long term rewards of the panels.

Wind energy is also another effective - although oftentimes controversial - source of energy. Wind farms across the country, such as Oweninny in Bellacorick, are a very valuable source of electricity. However, wind turbines are subject to scrutiny, due to their size, blade ‘flicker’, and their perceived negative effect on the local surroundings.

Increasing our usage of renewable energy is all well and good. But in recent times an elephant has - uncharacteristically - creeped into the room without near enough notice. These elephants take up rooms in their entirety, and there are 107 of them across the country. What I am referring to are data centres.

Data centres are a physical facility, used to house hardware, computer systems, and servers. They are used to run apps, websites, and artificial intelligence. The problem with these centres is their energy usage.

Data centres consumed 23% of Ireland’s metered electricity last year - this is up from 5% in 2015. For reference, the percentage consumed by urban and rural dwellings combined was 27%.

Data centres consumed only 4% less metered electricity than all homes in Ireland last year. That headline is being seriously overlooked, and it is only going to get worse judging from the exponential increase of the centres.

They also use a combined 4.78 million litres of Irish water daily, to cool the servers which are tightly packed together. Daily usage can increase even further during periods of warm weather. This, when viewed under the same microscope that is used when telling people to shorten their showers due to water wastage, is extremely concerning.

The extremely high demand for energy, which is being hastily worsened by data centres, is forcing Ireland to turn to more expensive, unsustainable energy sources in order to accommodate said demand. This is as bad for people’s pockets as it is for the environment. A study commissioned by Friends of the Earth found the demand was adding €90 a year to the average household utility bill - another damning statistic that should be getting more attention.

At a time when electricity is so valuable to struggling Irish households, and when such a big portion of our electricity goes to data centres, one realises quite quickly that our priorities are amiss.

There are two sides to every argument, and there are also positive aspects to the sprouting up of data centres.

They are a valuable asset to multinational companies situated in Ireland, who set up data processing centres here for efficiency. They also indirectly provide jobs for engineers, maintenance crews and developers. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke described the expansion as a “strategic opportunity for the Irish economy”.

In a government published report, it was found that €22 billion had been added to the economy, 17,000 jobs created and €2.8 billion in tax collected, all from data centres. This is a very important facet of the Irish economy.

For the sake of our electricity bills, our water supply, and our environment, I believe we should oppose any further data centres in Ireland. I believe that they are a case of the negatives outweighing the positives, most notably when it comes to electricity usage and costs.