Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This week, Bord na Móna announced an innovative new project near Rochfortbridge in County Westmeath, namely, a renewable energy park consisting of 200 MW of electricity that will be generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar, energy storage and green hydrogen production. Bord na Móna wants to attract high-demand energy users, such as data centres and distribution centres, to locate on this site to benefit from the on-site renewable energy supply. The effect of this Bill would be to torpedo this development and the jobs that would be created in the construction of this significant project in the midlands by a State-owned company.

The proposed moratorium on data centres is a blunt instrument and betrays an ignorance of power systems. This Bill is a vacuous distraction from the immense decarbonisation task we have ahead of us. It is an example of politicians stepping from policymaking into operations and micro-managing something they know very little about. It is cynicism, populism and playing to the gallery at its worst.

This week, in the media and in this House and its committees, we heard that 70% of Ireland’s energy could be consumed by data centres in 2030, except the number is wrong. It is misleading and makes an incredible assumption. It assumes that if every data centre gets the green light and is built, they would all run all of the time and at full demand, irrespective of the power load. This is nonsense. EirGrid’s worst-case scenario analysis shows that it could be around 30% if all applications are approved but there is no prospect of that. In some cases and in some locations, it does not make sense to build data centres. In other cases and locations, it does make sense. Large energy users, such as data centres, can be located in places where they help with grid stability and can ultimately help with the ramping up of renewable generation.

The truth is we need data centres. They are vital for our modern economy. However, we do not need them in the east, where there is an excess of electricity demand over supply. We need them in places such as Limerick, Clare, Waterford, Galway and Cork where there is significant potential for offshore wind. I have been working with Shannon Foynes Port Company, another State-owned company, to help it make the case for investment in the port to serve the offshore wind industry. Look at the potential of the offshore wind and hydrogen plant at Moneypoint in the Shannon Estuary. Development of this industry will bring high-quality jobs to a region that desperately needs them.

We have immense potential to generate significant amounts of power offshore, served by Foynes port. What we need are users of power because our west-to-east grid connections will be at capacity, and building new ones is very challenging from a planning perspective. This Bill would kill that potential straightaway and reflects a Dublin-centric view of our country. Data centres could be useful in areas where they can be powered by renewable sources and contribute to on-site storage so that they do not negatively impact on our electricity grid.

The appropriate way to regulate the impact of data centres on our electricity system is through the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, as the regulator, and EirGrid, the operator of our national grid, not through populist and ill-informed politics, which is what this Bill represents. The idea of a moratorium or that People Before Profit and other parties, including the Social Democrats which introduced a similar motion about data centres to the House this week, can or should dictate to the best transmission system operator in the world would be laughable if it were not so serious and potentially damaging to this country. This House should reject this Bill outright.

See this speech in context