Latest news with #PeterLantry
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Data centres left waiting for grid connections and sharing home EV chargers
Fifteen data centres around the State have been waiting for up to three years for decisions on getting connected to the national gas grid, writes Hugh Dooley. That comes as senior industry executive Peter Lantry warns a number of Irish retail data centres are nearing maximum capacity or 'going dark'. Sticking with energy, Ciara O'Brien writes that electric vehicle charging company EasyGo and the Department of Transport are rolling out a pilot programme that will see homeowners paid to share off-street car chargers with neighbours and members of the public. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has winkled out figures that show Ireland is the second-largest destination worldwide for exports from Israel . The 2024 figures from UN data, broadly by the Central Statstics Office, provide, he writes, a curious counterpoint to the frayed diplomatic relations between Dublin and Tel Aviv. From one controversy to another – the never-ending will it/won't it argument about Dublin's Metrolink project. Danish engineering group Ramboll, which is already working with Dublin Airport and on an EV infrastructure consultancy project for Government, says it would be interested in bidding for work on any Dublin metro project. Barry O'Halloran reports. READ MORE The world of work is increasingly competitive but even by that standard, reports that as many as 57 per cent of US workers made redundant in the past two years received the news by email or phone comes as a surprise. Pilita Clark considers it brutal and unacceptable. A scheme allowing private citizens to invest some of the €143 billion they hold on deposit in banks into housing development through a State-backed investment vehicle should be considered by Government, the incoming president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland says, adding the current level of public investment in housing is 'unsustainable'. Separately, a report from recruiter Excel, says Ireland is making a mistake in dragging short-term and seasonal workers into the State's pension auto-enrolmen t programme. It says changes are needed to make the scheme more user friendly. Finally, an Opinion piece by Dan Pender looks at the challenge between those driving advances in artificial intelligence and those charged with regulating the technology. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
15 data centres awaiting decision on gas network connection
Fifteen data centres around the State have been waiting for up to three years for decisions on getting connected to the national gas grid. It comes as Peter Lantry, managing director of data centre group Equinix , says a number of Irish retail data centres are nearing maximum capacity or 'going dark'. Rising demand in companies looking to locate in Ireland is outstripping the availability of data centre space, he said. There are 11 data centres contracted to connect to the gas network, of which four are awaiting connection, according to figures provided by Gas Networks Ireland to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Darragh O'Brien . As it stands, the maximum hourly load of these 11 data centres stands at 2,100 megawatts. The 15 data centres waiting for connection to the network would more than treble that demand to around 7,400 megawatts. READ MORE [ Commitment to climate action hard to find in Government Opens in new window ] Mr Lantry said the need for gas connections in data centres is often for backup power generation, giving the data centres flexibility to get off the electricity grid during power demand spikes. In a statement, Gas Networks Ireland said it was 'not contracting any new data centre connections' beyond the 11 data centres which were contracted to connect before the publication of the Government statement on the role of data centres in Ireland's enterprise strategy in July 2022. The State-owned company said it is 'engaging' with the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in relation to the impact of the statement on gas connection policy and is not contracting any new connections 'pending the CRU's consultation process on large energy users connection policy, which is ongoing'. A spokesman for the utility regulator said it is reviewing responses to the consultation process and 'hope[s] to publish the final paper along with the responses received later this year'. Until then, the 15 data centres waiting in the queue will not receive a decision on their requests to be connected to the grid. 'Current gas demand is only a fraction of this connected capacity, with demand projected to ramp up towards contracted levels as customers build out their sites' GNI informed Minister O'Brien in March for response to a separate parliamentary question. In a statement, a spokeswoman for O'Brien said the Government had prioritised renewable energy sources noting 'data centres 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..' Equinix's Mr Lantry said the company was one of the 11 to get approval for a gas network connection. But, he said, it had been unable to build that gas connection as its application for an electricity grid connection had been 'terminated'. Even with increased investment by companies such as Equinix into sustainable on-site energy generation, such as solar, limitations on data centres has meant that 'Ireland is no longer on the radar when it comes to companies that want to invest in this space', he said. The spokeswoman for the Department of Energy said data centres were 'core infrastructure enabler of a technology-rich, innovative economy, which makes Ireland a location of choice for a broad range of sectors and value-added activities.' She said Ireland had attracted the 'best data centre and tech companies in the world' but that the Government faces a 'significant challenge' to find the balance between competitiveness of industry and a sustainable and secure energy supply.
