Ireland's Data Centers are an Economic Lifeline, Environmentalists Say They're Wrecking the Planet
upstart writes:
In the west of Ireland lies a medieval market town, its roots steeped in legend. Beyond the labyrinth of narrow streets of the center are the chimney stacks of housing developments that still puff coal and peat. Past those homes, on the outskirts of Ennis, is an unremarkable but huge plot of land, nestled between a power station and farmland where cattle and sheep graze. This is where a mysterious company has applied to develop a new data center the size of 22 American football fields.
[...] The 1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) investment is likely to be welcomed by the Irish government, which has included large data centers as part of its "strategic infrastructure development," despite concerns growth in data centers could undermine the country's commitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Ireland's temperate climate helps reduce the amount of energy needed to cool servers, but its corporate tax rates - some of the lowest in the world - and friendly regulatory environment are what makes it so attractive to big companies, such as Google (GOOGL), Meta (FB) (Facebook), Intel (INTC) and Apple (AAPL), who all have their European headquarters here.
Despite that favorable climate, Ireland's data centers eat up a significant amount of electricity, leaving how their operations square with the country's ambitious climate goals in question. According to state-owned power operator EirGrid, they are on track to have consumed 17% of power generated in Ireland in 2021.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.