Demand for data centres is set to grow, with the take up of new data hungry AI technologies.

The technologies watchdog the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is in the middle of a consultation about how this demand could be managed.

One of the proposed ideas is that data centres could report their energy usage in near real-time.

Irish data centres already consume 21% of Ireland’s total energy demand.

Whether this proposal is taken onboard or not, it seems something must be done to improve Irish infrastructure and keep foreign direct investors in the market as the global tariff war heats up.

A person holds and counts budget money. Image: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / Alamy

Chair of Digital Infrastructure Ireland Maurice Mortell told Breakfast Briefing that the main issue facing the industry is a lack of clarity.

“The paper that came out last week shows a lack of visibility around capacity for the Dublin metro,” he said.

The Dublin metro refers to a network of nine highly connected data centres within the region.

“There’s no clarity around what capacity is going to be made available in the Dublin metro for the industry to continue to grow,” Mr Mortell said.

“There’s massive constraints around the transmission network, the distribution network, lack of investment and also on supply side on the energy side.

“So, there’s no clarity around can the industry continue to build in the Dublin metro.”

Mr Mortell said it is also unclear where large scale developments can build and what capacity energy they will be allowed.

Power generation

He said in a previous consultation with the CRU, it was suggested that centres could generate their own power before they were connected to the grid.

However, Mr Mortell said this was likely not a long-term solution.

"There was the idea of onsite power generation before you got a grid connection, so while grid connection was being made available you have to do onsite power generation that was coming from gas,” he said.

“So, I think as a stepping stone as to where you wanted to get to, yes, fine.

“But do data centres want to generate their own energy and dispatch it back onto the grid? That’s open to question.”

A general view of an electricity pylons in Dublin as EirGrid has identified three optimum link-up locations for a new 250km high voltage pylon route across Leinster and Munster.

According to Mr Mortell, the worst case scenario that could result from the current consultation is “the continuation of the inertia that we have in the system at the moment”.

“There’s been no new connections offered within the last four years,” he said.

“As a result, foreign direct investment has stalled - the industry is in a crisis to be honest with you.

“[Foreign direct investment] has slowed down, there’s been no new projects planned in Ireland at all, bar what was originally planned four years ago.”

Mr Mortell said digital infrastructure industry has made “significant investments in Ireland” that are “not going to go away anytime soon”.

However, he said we have missed out on the opportunity to capitalise on the first phase of AI investment as a result of this lack of clarity.

Main image: A data silo with magnetic tapes is pictured at the German Climate Computing Centre (DKRZ) in Hamburg, Germany, 25 February 2013. The DKRZ is celebrating its 25th anniversary on 25 February 2013. Photo: Sven Hoppe