Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 October 2022
191. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of data centres in Ireland that are not connected to the grid and that use on-site fossil fuel to generate power. [52554/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe management of connections to the electricity grid, including data centres and other large energy users, is a matter for the system operators, EirGrid and ESB Networks, under rules determined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Matters relating to gas network connections are an operational issue for Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) and for the Board and management of that company, and are not ones in which I, as Minister, have any statutory function.However, my officials have engaged with GNI regarding this matter. GNI have advised that, based on the information currently available to them, there are no data centres in Ireland that are currently using natural gas on-site to generate power which are not connected to the electricity grid. Moreover, in July of this year, Government published a new ‘Statement on the Role of Data Centres in Ireland's Enterprise Strategy’ with the aim of ensuring alignment with Ireland’s renewable energy targets, sectoral emissions and climate priorities. The Statement notes that “‘Islanded’ data centre developments, that are not connected to the electricity grid and are powered mainly by on-site fossil fuel generation, would not be in line with national policy”. My Department and I have been engaging with the CRU, GNI and EirGrid to that effect.
