New data centres will only be able to connect to Ireland’s electricity grid if they also generate and supply power to homes and businesses, the regulator that oversees the energy industry has ruled.
Electricity system operators, ESB Networks and EirGrid, will also have to take into account whether the data centre for which a connection has been requested is located in an area of the State where electricity supply is constrained, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) ruled on Friday.
The highly anticipated decision follows the regulator’s review of the grid connection policy for large energy users, namely data centres.
In February, the CRU published draft measures setting out new proposals to address increased electricity demand from new data centres.
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The Irish Times reported on Thursday that the final decision was unlikely to change key elements of February’s draft decision.
In Friday’s final decision, the CRU confirmed that new data centres must have power plants or batteries, on site or close by, that match the facilities’ own energy demands.
The energy they produce will then be used to supply power to the wholesale electricity market in the Republic, which is then used to power homes and businesses.
New data centres will also eventually be required to meet at least 80 per cent of the annual demand for power with “additional renewable electricity” generated within the Republic, the CRU said.
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The centres will have a “six-year glide path” to achieving those requirements, according to the decision.
When deciding whether to connect a data centre, ESB Networks and EirGrid must establish if the facility is in a part of the State where the supply of electricity is “constrained or unconstrained”, the CRU said.
The decision identifies the “greater Dublin region” as being an area where “significant pressures” have been placed on the local system and generation capacity.
Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Waterford are also identified as areas where the “relative speed of potential demand” from new large energy users could pose problems.
The CRU ruled that ESB Networks and EirGrid will have the final say on whether a connection can or cannot be accommodated based on local constraints.
The system operators will have until March 31st to provide the CRU with initial proposals relating to these and the other requirements set out in the decision.
They are also now required to “develop and publish an engagement and connection process for data centre connection applicants”.
Some industry bodies have chafed at the proposals around energy generation.
In its response to the commission’s draft decision in February, industry group Digital Infrastructure Ireland (DII) said that building power plants on their data centre sites “was not attractive” for its members.
“Their construction can double the cost of building a data centre,” said DII. “Their operation is complex and expensive. Planning and licensing add additional uncertainty. Emissions are more difficult to mitigate.”
The centres consume one-fifth of all electricity used in the Republic, a figure set to rise to 30 per cent by 2032.
