High-energy data centres not quite as clean
and green as they seem
Tech industry should not be determining factor shaping collective energy future
Wed, Sep 11, 2019, 00:40
Patrick Bresnihan, Patrick Brodie
Work on the first phase of a €1 billion Amazon data centre facility is about to begin in
Mulhuddart, Dublin, as reported at the weekend. If Amazon’s full plans for the 26-hectare
site are realised, the development will consume an estimated 4.4 per cent of Ireland’s total
energy demand by 2026. It will provide as few as 30 permanent jobs.
Data and technology are usually perceived as positive for the environment – think smart
meters, driverless cars or smart home heating systems. And while companies such as
Amazon and Apple jostle for the title of “greenest” tech company, the reality is that their
business models rely on global supply chains that involve fossil fuels, rare earth mining,
industrial manufacturing and e-waste. Data centres are thus just one – albeit large –part of
this tech footprint.
The lack of environmental scrutiny of data centres is no accident. The “cloud” has been
promoted as somehow clean and immaterial, a global storage unit that is a part of the
atmosphere. The metaphor itself – popularised by Amazon in the mid-2000s – is meant to
indicate this very immateriality; “hands-off” computing meant as a solution to bulky
enterprise and consumer hardware.
In Ireland, this image is fuelled by a media fiction that locates the tech economy in the
Silicon Docks. However, these flashy offices are in fact reliant on wide geography of
places, infrastructures and resources that are rarely discussed in the media.
Despite recent investments in wind energy, data centres here
still rely on Ireland’s national energy grid, which continues to be
predominantly powered by fossil fuels
Eirgrid reports that by 2027, electricity demand from data centres will have risen to 31 per
cent of total demand. Greater Dublin’s electricity demand could double in 10 years, mainly
due to the number of data centres planned by multinationals for the region. This means that
over the next decade, demand for power in the capital will grow by the same amount as it
did over the last 100 years. Where will this energy come from?
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/high-energy-data-centres-not-quite-as-clean-and-green-asthey-seem-1.4013992
Tech companies claim that they source 100 per cent renewable energy for data centre
operations. But short of going off-grid and generating their own energy, such claims don’t
amount to much. Despite recent investments in wind energy, data centres here still rely on
Ireland’s national energy grid, which continues to be predominantly powered by fossil
fuels.
Controversial project
These companies are more concerned with securing large supplies of energy than with lowcarbon transition. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in the Shannon Estuary,
proposed by US company New Fortress Energy, is designed to import and process shale
gas extracted through fracking in the US. Chief executive Wesley Edens has been in direct
talks with major tech companies based in Ireland, making it clear that the energy demands
of data centres is a determining factor in driving the controversial project.
“The lack of environmental scrutiny of data centres is no accident. The ‘cloud’ has been
promoted as somehow clean and immaterial, a global storage unit that is a part of the
atmosphere.”
The Irish State has attracted largely tech investment through taxation and planning policies.
However, we also need to pay more attention to the legislative, planning and infrastructural
conditions put in place by the State for these companies.
Proposed in 2017, Amazon’s Mulhuddart project faced environmental appeals by the same
objectors to Apple’s planned Athenry data centre in 2015, who received a final ruling in
the Supreme Court last April. While Apple had already withdrawn the project, the decision
ruled that Apple was not required to submit an environmental impact assessment for the
entire planned campus.
‘Critical infrastructure’
Amazon benefited from this ruling. Along with the amendment to the Planning and
Development Act of 2000 which designated data centres as “critical infrastructure”
allowing them to skip local planning, the State has gone all in to support these companies
at the expense of environmental considerations.
The current Government should take a long look at the
information available: the data centre gamble is far from
sustainable
The State also provides more than legislation and planning support. Data centres clustered
on the east coast rely on the State’s physical energy grids. With some data centres requiring
the same amount of energy as Drogheda, Eirgrid has stated its planning strategy is now
“heavily influenced” by the expected growth of data centres. The expansion and
development of Ireland’s public transmission network is being shaped by the intensive
energy demands of data centres.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/high-energy-data-centres-not-quite-as-clean-and-green-asthey-seem-1.4013992
The Government’s Climate Action Plan takes the increasing energy needs of the tech
industry as a given. At the same time, each household in the country will soon be equipped
with a smart energy meter to help reduce energy consumption. There is something grossly
inequitable about individuals being forced to take on more responsibility for climate change
while certain global industries are allowed to escalate their consumption of energy
resources.
As is clear, data centres have impacts that may not have been predicted by early planners
and pro-tech policymakers. The governments involved may not have even realised the
implications, or the extent to which data centres would be required to power the global tech
economy.
With green energy and emissions targets at risk of being missed entirely, the current
Government should take a long look at the information available: the data centre gamble is
far from sustainable, and the tech industry should not be the determining factor shaping our
collective energy future.
Dr Patrick Bresnihan is lecturer in the Department of Geography at Trinity College
Dublin, and Patrick Brodie is a doctoral student at Concordia University in Montreal
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/high-energy-data-centres-not-quite-as-clean-and-green-asthey-seem-1.4013992