Data centers and Ireland’s power system - an industry perspective

Ireland’s data industry is set to double in size in the next five years. Over 50 data centres are now in operation, with over 600MW of grid capacity and demand of 2TWh of electricity annually. €1.3 billion per annum is being spent on the construction of new data centres.

Learn about the data industry and the implications for Ireland’s energy system:

-Growth in demand for data. How is the data industry structured? 

-COVID-impact on digital industry.

-Criteria for locating data centres - essential infrastructure.

-Ireland’s data industry - Locations, Scale and Growth. (& investment)

-European data centre industry context.

-Power demand trends in data centres. Power utilisation & grid connections.

-Grid Services applications to support renewables

-On-site generation, Hydrogen, fuel cells.

-Corporate Social Responsibility and green energy supply, PPAs

Those with an interest in understanding the opportunities in the data industry, from supplying green power to data centre development.

• Digital transformation – Enterprise IT, apps, video, virtual reality, augmented reality, Internet of Things, etc.
• The Cloud and Ireland’s data centres. Ireland’s ICT industry success.
• Irish data centre industry analysis – from a power grid perspective.
• Dublin’s advantage & prospects for the regions.
• Fibre connectivity nationally and internationally. Dark and lit fibre, fibre ducts.
• Sustainability and CSR. Green energy procurement. 24/7 carbon free.
• Data centre power model. Data centre energy use and efficiency.
• Alternative power arrangements – on-site generation & resillience.
• Power Purchase Agreements – the drive for renewables.
• Future resilience models – dual renewable supplies.
• Innovative developments in data centre design.
• The impact of datacentres on Irish renewable industry.

This course will be delivered by David McAuley of Bitpower.

David consults to the data industry on energy issues and is active in the data centre community.

He prepares a quarterly analysis of the scale of the data industry in Ireland (https://bitpower.ie/index.php/dashboard ).

David previously worked as R&D Manager at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) with roles in Low Carbon Technology Research and Development and is an expert in Industrial energy efficiency.

He regularly presents at data industry conferences, most recently chairing the DataCloud Ireland Conference (https://www.datacloudireland.com/programme ) held in September 2019.