Friends of the Earth Calls for Moratorium on Runaway Data Centre Expansion

In response to damning CSO release, Friends of the Earth calls for temporary ban on further data centre connection until fit-for-purpose Government policy introduced.

Friends of the Earth has called for a moratorium on data centre expansion. The environmental campaigning organisation has made the call in response to the alarm over the soaring electricity consumption by data centres in Ireland. Figures released by the  Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week show that data centres in Ireland now account for more than 20% of the nation's total electricity use - more electricity than all the urban homes in the country combined and twice as much as all rural households. These latest CSO figures [1] underscore the pressing need for an immediate moratorium combined with a new policy and regulatory system to address this unsustainable growth. Ireland currently hosts 82 operational data centres, with 14 more under construction and planning approval granted for an additional 40, predicting a 65% growth in the sector in the coming years [2]. This trend poses a severe threat to Ireland's energy security and climate commitments.

Jerry Mac Evilly, Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, said: 

"Despite Minister Eamon Ryan's assertion that data centres must operate within climate limits, existing policies fail to ensure this. Ireland is an outlier, with data centres projected to consume as much as 30% of total electricity by 2030.  This is why Friends of the Earth is calling for a moratorium on new data centre developments until Government establishes a robust legislative and regulatory framework to prevent further increases to electricity and fossil gas demand.The argument is pushed that data centres are a necessary evil. But who is really benefiting from their expansion? Why is this energy guzzling industry continuing to expand in Ireland at a time when we know that Ireland needs to rapidly reduce energy demand both on security and climate grounds?"

David Rossiter, Fossil-Free Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

 "A recent Ireland Thinks poll showed that 51% of those surveyed respondents support pausing data centre development. Experts from University College Cork (UCC) have also emphasised that Ireland's electricity system is among the most polluting in Europe, primarily due to its reliance on fossil gas . The addition of high-demand data centres exacerbates this issue. Contrary to the belief that data centres drive economic growth, evidence does not back up the contention that they provide economic benefits.”

Rosi Leonard, Network Development Coordinator at Friends of the Earth, said:

 "The unsustainable rise of data centres in Ireland puts our climate goals at risk and calls into question who our energy systems are for. We need to prioritise taking expensive and unhealthy fossil fuels out of our homes and communities. Not only are data centres gobbling vast amounts of renewables for private profit, but we should also be deeply concerned about their prolific water consumption. We know that Meta’s Data Centre in Clonee uses more water than a large town the size of Mullingar - this more than any other Meta Data Centre in the world [3]. Allowing Ireland to be used for unfettered data centre expansion puts a just transition for communities at risk and also risks creating  an unjust scenario where the rest of us face expensive fossil fuel bills while private industry enjoys clean energy. We need to shout stop.” 

As a result, Friends of the Earth is calling for the following:

• Moratorium: Government should introduce a legal moratorium on new data centre developments until a robust legislative and regulatory framework is established.
• Renewable Energy and Storage: Data centres should be required to invest in substantive on-site renewables and storage to reduce their dependence on the national grid.
• Fossil Fuel Phase-Out:  Data centres should commit to phasing out fossil fuels, including fossil gas and diesel used on their sites,  and support the development of a zero-carbon electricity system led by renewable energy.
• Speculative Applications: The Government should end speculative data centre applications that inflate expected energy use and strain resources.
• Transparency: The Government should mandate annual disclosure of emissions and future projections by data centres.

ENDS

Notes 

1. See Central Statistics Office (CSO) Data Centre Electricity Consumption at: 
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2023/keyfindings/ 

• Data centres used more than a fifth (21%) of all electricity consumed in Ireland in 2023, a dramatic increase from 5% in 2015.
• Quarterly electricity consumption by data centres surged from 290 Gigawatt hours in Q1 2015 to 1,661 Gigawatt hours in Q4 2023, marking a 473% jump.
• The current consumption by data centres surpasses that of all urban homes combined and is double that of all rural households.
• Electricity consumption by data centres increased by 20% between 2022 and 2023 (See Table 1).
• The percentage of total metered electricity consumption used by data centres rose from 5% in 2015 to 21% in 2023 
• In 2023, urban households accounted for 18% and rural households for 10% of total metered electricity consumption 
• Quarterly metered electricity consumption by data centres increased steadily from 290 Gigawatt hours in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,661 Gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2023. This was an increase of 473% (See Table 2 and Figure 2).
• Total metered electricity consumption rose by 24% between 2015 and 2023.

2. See: https://www.bitpower.ie/index.php/dashboard.

3. See: https://www.businesspost.ie/news/meta-buys-total-output-of-two-of-lrelands-largest-solar-farms/