A multinational whose Irish business spends almost €18 million a year on electricity faces criticism from investors and environmentalists for its high energy bills and lack of a clear renewables policy.
BOC Gases Ireland, part of Irish-registered, New York-listed multinational Linde plc, consumes enough electricity in a year to power all homes in Dublin for two months, according to Action Speaks Louder (ASL), an environmental group that scrutinises how global businesses meet their climate pledges.
Based on estimates in BOC’s own environmental report and data from the State’s Environmental Protection Agency, ASL maintains that the industrial gas manufacturer’s Irish business spent €17.6 million on electricity last year and about €18 million annually between 2022 and 2025.
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A recent ASL report on parent group Linde’s global energy consumption across the 80 countries where the industrial gas giant operates argues that it exposes shareholders to price volatility.
Similarly, its underinvestment in renewables potentially disadvantages it against rivals, including French player, Air Liquide.
Its findings on the group’s global and Irish operations come as controversy over the pressure that data centres and other large energy users put on the Republic’s electricity systems continues against a background of rising domestic prices.
Shareholder NorthStar Asset Management notes that Linde globally “consumes 42.5 million megawatt hours of electricity annually, more than the electricity consumption of Ireland” in a motion that it has filed for debate at the group’s annual general meeting in London next month.
This exposes Linde to risks including price volatility, power availability and grid reliability, NorthStar argues.
Its motion calls on Linde to establish criteria to guide future procurement of renewable energy across its businesses and regions, describe processes for guiding future long- and short-term renewable energy targets, and say how it will implement those policies.
NorthStar and ASL argue that Linde’s own calculations of its renewable energy use are based on “passive” reliance on national grids in the countries in which it operates. Instead, they maintain that it should be taking active steps to increase its use of green power.
The annual general meeting motion notes that this practice makes it difficult to verify Linde’s assertion that it sources 47 per cent of electricity from low-carbon and renewable sources.
In a statement, ASL says Linde’s use of renewables is below what it could achieve given the countries in which it operates.
“In regions where wind, solar and batteries are available, rapidly expanding and cost-competitive, continued reliance on default grid supply is hard to justify,” says ASL.
The group added that shareholders such as NorthStar are right to demand a credible renewables policy.
Data centres in the Republic are increasingly agreeing deals to buy electricity directly from wind and solar farms, known as power purchase deals.
These are intended to boost the availability of renewables and cut individual firms’ dependence on the national grid.
The Linde board recommends that shareholders vote against NorthStar’s proposal, arguing that the group has comprehensive climate change goals.
“Our public disclosures provide transparent information needed by our shareholders and other stakeholders to understand the scope of these activities, including our policies and frameworks relating to renewable energy,” the recommendation says.
The HSE says it works with suppliers and partners to achieve meaningful emission reductions. It notes that the agency cut emissions from inhaled anaesthetics in Irish hospitals by 27 per cent between 2019 and 2024.
Linde did not respond to several questions put to it about local and global energy use.
