The Department of Enterprise has denied it attempted to “predetermine or direct” the conclusions of a study on the value of data centres to the State.
There have been calls for a pause on new data-centre development after it emerged that Government officials sought changes to a draft report that would present a “strong narrative” supporting the development of “our data-centre landscape” beyond 2030.
Environmental campaigners are concerned about data centres given their high energy usage and the impact on climate action targets and Ireland’s electricity grid.
In June, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke published a report prepared by KPMG entitled The Value of Data Centres to Ireland, with a statement saying it “demonstrates that data centres are a critical component of Ireland’s digital infrastructure, supporting economic activity, employment and investment”.
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Records released following Freedom of Information requests by Sinn Féin show the Department of Enterprise sought changes to a draft version of the report.
There were numerous changes between the draft and final reports including on how community concerns over high data and water use should be addressed.
There was also the omission in the published version of a section in the draft report under the heading “opportunity costs to data centre investment” that said: “Questions remain about whether infrastructure support and investment could be more impactful if directed toward public services like transport or housing.”
The emergence of the documents resulted in stories in The Journal and the Irish Daily Mail.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth called for an “immediate pause on new data centre developments” in response to the reporting on changes made to the report in advance of its publication.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said the Government had “doctored” the report, saying this was “very concerning”.
She said there should be a pause in data centre development in place until the electricity grid was capable of taking more of them and that any future facilities “need to be built at the highest sustainability standards”.
In response, the Department of Enterprise said the report was commissioned to examine the economic contribution of data centres and not to “duplicate work” done by other agencies on issues such as energy demand, emissions and sustainability.
“The department does not accept suggestions that the report was rewritten to support a predetermined policy position,” it said.
The records show a draft of the report was sent by KPMG to the department last November.
A department official emailed KPMG on December 11th to say there was a “significant body of evidence being presented in the draft report”, but “we have concerns regarding the clarity and communication of the messages/insights being drawn from the research”.
They suggested a face-to-face meeting to discuss “some aspects of the report” and said: “In particular, the exec [executive] summary needs to present a strong narrative that considers the full gamut of the economic analysis and provides the evidence base that supports the position that we should continue to further develop our data-centre landscape post-2030 in the context of our climate objectives.”
KPMG wrote to the department on December 19th, saying a revised executive summary “incorporates the feedback we discussed”.
On Friday, a Department of Enterprise statement said there had been “extensive” debate and analysis “on the energy, environmental and infrastructure dimensions of data centres”, but “comparatively less analysis of their economic contribution”.
“The purpose of this study was therefore not to provide an overarching assessment of every aspect of data-centre policy, but rather to develop an evidence-based understanding of their economic contribution,” it said.
The statement said “the request for a stronger narrative in the executive summary reflected a desire to ensure there was a clear line of sight between the evidence presented in the report and the conclusions drawn from that evidence, thereby improving readability and understanding for the reader. It was not an attempt to predetermine or direct the study’s conclusions”.
“As is standard practice with commissioned research, draft reports were subject to review, challenge and refinement throughout the research process. This is a normal and expected feature of producing rigorous, evidence-based research,” it said.
The department said the published report “reflects KPMG’s considered assessment following evidence gathering, stakeholder engagement, expert challenge and quality assurance and should be regarded as the authoritative version of the study”.
