Written answers

Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Data Centres

All Written Answers on 1 Jul 2025 « Previous answer Next answer »

Photo of Ciarán AhernCiarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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171. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual emissions generated by all existing data centres currently operating in the State in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; the expected emissions to be generated in each of the next five years by the additional 14 data centres currently under construction and the 40 data centres which have received planning permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35504/25]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Environmental Protection Agency have provided estimates of the annual emissions generated by all existing data centres currently operating in the State in each of the past ten years, in tabular form (available in the attached excel table).

These estimates are based on the latest information available to the Environmental Protection Agency which are from two sources:

  1. EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) Permits
  2. SEAI Interim Energy Balance, Information and Communication NACE 58-63 sector which includes Data Centres.
Attached is a summary table of verified emissions from EU ETS permitted facilities from 2013-2024. In 2024, 24 Data Centres met and/or exceeded the threshold of 20 MW on-site stand-by generation capacity requiring them to obtain a Greenhouse Gas Emissions permit from the Environmental Protection Agency under the EU Emissions Trading System. In total, across the 24 EU ETS permitted Data Centres, there were 37,147.01 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2024.

Additionally, based on the SEAI Interim Energy Balance received by the EPA (23/05/2025), the Information and Communication NACE sector more broadly (58-63 NACE sector) used 716 ktoe of electricity in 2024, up from 120 ktoe in 2014. The CO2 emissions attributable to the Information and Communication sector is ca. 1.9 million tonnes in 2024.

In relation to "the expected emissions to be generated in each of the next five years by the additional 14 data centres currently under construction and the 40 data centres which have received planning permission", modelling assumptions underpinning the EPA’s latest greenhouse gas projections published in May 2025 are as follows, (www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring--assessment/climate-change/air-emissions/irelands-greenhouse-gas-emissions-projections-2024-2055.php):
  • For electricity consumption, EirGrid Median scenario from 10-year median forecast (EirGrid's best estimate) taken for both WEM (with existing measures) and WAM (with additional measures).
  • For gas consumption, projected increase in gas use by data centres aligned to the Low scenario of “Annual large new industrial & commercial loads demand forecasts” from GNI’s latest Network Development Plan (www.gasnetworks.ie/sites/default/files/docs/corporate/gas-regulation/Network-Development-Plan-2023.pdf) for both WEM and WAM. This scenario, “is limited to Data Centre customers with connection agreements already in place.”
The Environmental Protection Agency advises my Department that given the production cycle of the GNI National Development Plan, if this connection agreement was not in place prior to July 2024, then it will not have been included in their 'Low scenario', and will not have been included in EPA projections published in May 2025.

In addition, Data Centres are not specifically identifiable in EPA greenhouse gas projections but are contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sector 1.A.4.a 'Other sectors a. Commercial/institutional' sector. Current projected emissions for Commercial Services sector for both WEM and WAM scenarios are provided in the table below. It should be noted that the below emissions do not include the emissions from public electricity generation utilised by data centres. Emissions from public electricity generation are reported under a separate IPCC sector 1.A.1.a 'Public electricity and heat production'.
Commercial Services sector Emissions 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
WEM Mt CO2eq 0.80 0.88 0.93 0.92 0.92 0.91 0.90
WAM Mt CO2eq 0.80 0.86 0.89 0.85 0.74 0.57 0.51
Finally, it is important to note that Data Centres under construction and those with planning permission also need a connection agreement with a Systems Operator before they become operational.

">Data Centres 2013-2024

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Photo of Ciarán AhernCiarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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172. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government how the 14 data centres currently under construction and the 40 data centres which have received planning permission in the State will be powered; the amount of energy and water that will be used on an annual basis by the 14 data centres currently under construction and 40 data centres which have received planning permission; whether the electricity network has capacity to supply energy to the additional 40 data centres which have received planning permission; the amount of that energy that will come from sustainable sources; the amount of the energy that will come from gas or other fossil fuels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35505/25]

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