The Irish Times view on data centres: how many is too many?
They are are putting a heavy strain on Ireland’s efforts to meet climate targets
Data Centres
Construction ‘one of strongest performers’ in jobs market amid housing push
Hiring ‘buoyant’ for quantity surveyors, engineers, project managers and design staff
Data centres costing €5.6bn have planning approval but no electricity, industry warns
Access to electricity and gas restricts because of risk of blackouts due to power-hungry sector
Inside Intel’s big bet to save US chipmaking – and itself
Claims of a breakthrough at the chip company’s new Arizona facility will be tested by sceptical Big Tech customers
South African investor pays €1.325m for Airways Industrial Estate unit
Price paid represents 13% premium on amount sought for fully let investment
Do you take photos of your cat or dog everyday? There is a cost
Green internet use can help tackle the problem of ‘dark data’
Technology breakthrough helps refrigeration and data centre sectors meet climate goals
Irish company Exergyn has developed approach to avoid high costs of heating and cooling systems
Energia owner calls final bids as KKR and Canadian Pension Plan circle
Electricity and gas group put on market earlier this year at estimated value of €2.75bn
Kingspan chases Magnificent Seven energy with plan to float unit riding on AI boom
Close to $7 trillion will need to be spent on data centres globally by 2030
Is sovereign AI the answer for Ireland?
Countries are increasingly looking to retain control over sensitive data rather leave it in the hands of private operators driven by profit
Energy regulator to investigate Energia for claiming price increases were sanctioned
Centres have become controversial due to their use of over 20% of electricity generated in Ireland
Here’s an idea: divert the energy from data centres to heat Irish homes
An Amazon facility already powers one Tallaght district heating scheme but we should have many more
‘Delay is fatal’ to Dublin revitalisation plans, says David McRedmond
The best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk
Ireland’s data centre appeal ‘fading’ due to pressure on electricity grid, report says
Government reforms to sector likely to lead to short-term reliance on fossil fuels, Barclays finds
Enet owner buys BT Ireland’s wholesale fibre business for €22m
About 300 of BT Ireland’s 650 workforce will remain in Ireland to serve multinationals and large organisations
How the race for total AI domination is revisiting the worst of human history
In the News podcast: Engineer, journalist and AI expert Karen Hao on the true human and environmental cost of generative AI
Competition regulator clears Equinix acquisition of BT Datacentres Ireland
Deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year
Planners back €3bn Herbata data centre in Kildare
Kildare County Council imposes 77 conditions on Naas project
Kildare data centre plan faces fresh objections
An Taisce among groups opposing server farm proposals
Karen Hao on AI tech bosses: ‘Many choose not to have children because they don’t think the world is going to be around much longer’
The author of Empire of AI: Inside the Reckless Race for Total Domination discusses the cost of Big Tech’s huge investment in technologies that may do more harm than good
Microsoft provides data storage for Israeli military
A Microsoft spokesperson did not comment on a query about Irish data centres’ involvement
Green Party leader calls on Government to retain funding of key climate projects
Announcement of €5m district heating fund comes amid concerns over possible rollback of climate spending as revised NDP is finalised
We need to talk about AI’s staggering ecological impact
A ChatGPT query is estimated to consume about five times more electricity than a simple web search
Amazon Web Services says Dublin data centre plan will not have ‘significant impact on climate’
Facility ‘will have no significant impact on climate’, company’s planning consultant says
Kildare data centre will not take power from grid
Herbata plans to use 50% renewables at Naas complex
Ireland’s water infrastructure now main block on growth, committee hears
Irish Fiscal Advisory Council flags State’s oversubscribed water infrastructure as key risk
AI involves ‘arms race betweeen nations’ with ‘no easy option for Ireland’, committee hears
AI Advisory Council members say new technologies will present enormous opportunities for society
Ireland must act quickly or lose chance to be leading player in AI, committee will hear
Dr Patricia Scanlon of the AI Advisory Council urges Government to consider regulatory overhaul
‘We’ve dropped the ball’: Ireland’s housing targets will be missed because the water, electricity and roads required can’t be delivered
Badly needed scaling up of house-building is threatened by transport and utilities projects stuck in the planning pipeline. What is to be done?
Irish construction firms working on projects abroad amid planning snarl-ups
CIF calls on Government to remove ‘roadblocks’ creating ‘persistent uncertainty in Ireland’s infrastructure pipeline’
Data centres and other large users of electricity to be allowed to build and operate own lines to power plants
Department of Energy proposal will depart from norm of ESB having exclusive right to own such infrastructure
Impact of AI on Ireland’s energy demands ‘not going to be as steep’ as feared
Officials from Research Ireland appeared before newly formed Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence
Data centres accounted for more than fifth of Ireland’s electricity usage last year
Percentage share of metered electricity consumption used by data centres has more than quadrupled since 2015
15 data centres awaiting decision on gas network connection
Industry executive warns that existing Irish retail data centres are nearing maximum capacity or ‘going dark’
Commitment to climate action hard to find in Government
Half of electricity generated in the Dublin region is now being consumed by data centres
Mercury Engineering aims for €3bn revenue within five years
Construction group eyes strong expansion in key European markets
Approval for Mayo data centre plan is appealed
Planning consultant said data centre site was chosen ‘outside grid-constrained areas and in a region with a surplus of renewable power’
Ireland losing investment because of slow progress on offshore wind projects, Limerick Chamber warns
‘Urgent delivery of designated maritime area plans to unlock West coast floating offshore wind potential needed’
Equinix bid for BT Datacentres faces full mergers investigation
Competition and Consumer Protection Commission opens inquiry into deal
Regulatory uncertainty blocking housing investment, Elkstone warns
Ireland’s development pipeline is stalling precisely when new housing is most desperately needed, investment firm Elkstone claims
‘My message is clear for Ireland, electricity is the future,’ IEA director Fatih Birol
Electrification should be overriding priority for Irish economy, industry and society, says International Energy Agency chief
Irish arm of Oracle pays €730m in dividends to US parent in 18 months
Directors consider impact of US and EU tariff and non-tariff trade measures as ‘minimal’
How Irish booksellers feel about the arrival of Amazon.ie: ‘It’s a very real danger to the industry’
Bookshops offer something that an exclusively online retailer cannot, but they may need support to compete against a corporate giant
Ireland’s main tariff response is ‘putting everything’ into EU-US deal, Minister says
Peter Burke outlined a 16-point plan to improve competitiveness including Ceta progress
King of Wall Street says European leaders ‘starting to focus on a growth agenda, not a control agenda’
Larry Fink, the head of the world’s biggest asset manager, talks tariffs, pensions and the ‘assets that will define the future’
AI data centre growth means more coal and gas plants, IEA says
Renewable supplies won’t be enough to power surge in data centre consumption
Data centres spurn electricity supply plan
Industry warns that power market not designed for back-up generators
Legal threats see some climate activists turn to clandestine sabotage activities
Ireland has a long history of courageous climate and environmental activism which includes protests against LNG and fracking, the Corrib gas pipeline, tree felling at the Glen of the Downs, Sitka spruce plantations and data centres
Debate: Should Ireland build more data centres?
Providing IT infrastructure for the likes of Amazon and Meta is key for our economy, but environmental costs worry opponents
Planners approve Energia data centre
Project is in line with Government’s Climate Action Plan, An Bord Pleanála rules after objections from An Taisce and environmentalists
Electricity supplies face ongoing pressure due to increases in demand
National grid operator predicts record demand as climate change measures kick in
Patrick Freyne: Here’s what I see when I see Irish people at their best
We are hospitable and irreverent, but also cynical and parochial. When things get difficult, who do we want to be?
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