Under the proposed rules, grid operators EirGrid and ESB Networks will also have to perform ‘market sounding exercises’.
Ireland’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has unveiled its proposed policy updates on new electricity connections for data centres in the country, which include requirements for annual emissions reports and participation in Ireland’s electricity market.
The new policy will replace the one in place since 2021 and applies to all data centres looking to connect to the electricity network.
According to the draft decision, new data centres looking to connect to the grid will need to provide generation or storage capacity to match the requested demand capacity, as well as trade the generated electricity in the market. However, electricity generation or storage can now be on-site or in close proximity to the data centre.
Moreover, EirGrid and ESB Networks – the system operators – will now consider the location of new data centre connections in respect of whether the requested connection is in a constrained region – an area with heavy pressure on the grid, with no room for further electricity generation – or in an unconstrained region.
In a bid to increase transparency around electricity usage, the operators will publish the data centres’ annual emissions and renewable energy reports, as well as regularly map the capacity of the electricity network, and identify current and future constraints.
The proposed decision will also require the operators to perform ‘market sounding exercises’ to understand the growing appetite of the data centre industry in the country.
Moreover, as per the draft decision, the data centre industry will now be required to share details on the extent to which their unused grid connection capacity could be returned.
In 2023, data centres accounted for 21pc of the electricity demand in Ireland, and with the current trajectory, EirGrid forecasts that the data centre sector will grow to demand 13.3 TWh or 30pc of the nation’s electricity by 2032.
According to the CRU, the proposed decision aims to provide a way for large energy users’ to connect to the electricity system, while keeping in mind network constraints and “minimising” the potential impacts to national renewable energy targets and carbon emissions.
The Commission is inviting comments from interested parties until 4 April, before it announces its final decision.
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