The LEU Connection Policy should require:

The infrastructure of data centres is regulated as a public utility

NHNA recognises and agrees that data centres and Information and communication technology (ICT) are critical to a modern economy and therefore propose that data centres are regulated as public utilities.
The ESB model is an example of a state-owned entity that balances maintaining public service with commercial opportunities.

The benefits of such an approach are numerous:

Regulatory clarity and responsibility would be provided in relation to data protection, energy usage and water usage.
Requirements regarding direct onsite renewables would be easier to enforce.
Similar to broadband infrastructure, large users could lease storage and generation capacity to ensure a more sustainable long-term operation.
Digital utility levies, similar to the Digital Services Levy Act (2024), could be introduced to directly improve the sustainability of the national grid and broadband access across the country.
The requirement of a license to operate with obligations for providers concerning resource usage and adherence to national targets. This license would mandate adequate reporting is adhered to on an accurate and non-volunteer basis.

Policy asks:

The CRU should recommend that in order to sufficiently regulate this industry that the government legislate to amend the Electricity Regulation Act (1999) and/or create a new Digital Infrastructures Regulation Act.
The CRU, or a newly defined body, should have the legal mandate to regulate all aspects of this essential service to ensure a fair and sustainable data centre landscape.

2. New data centres are powered by on-site renewable energy

Data centres are currently cutting into our renewable energy capacity that could be used to decarbonise current demand and are not currently acting as an accelerator for new renewable investment, as detailed by the Energy policy and Management Group (EPMG) last year.
There is legislative precedent for mandating renewable usage within Europe. The German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) requires data centres to have 50% of their electricity consumption from renewable sources as of 2024 and 100% as of 2027. Albeit, the German legislation allows for Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs).
Allowing the use of CPPAs to match data centre demand runs the risk of enabling greenwashing by allowing data centres providers to claim additionality without evidence. CPPAs have been shown to provide only limited mitigation within the Irish context “with only 16% of data centre demand covered by additional renewable capacity between 2020 and 2023”. This demonstrates the unreliability of this method to ensure necessary decarbonisation.

Policy asks:

Data centres should be required to create new on-site renewables to ensure the new demand they create is not being powered by new fossil fuel generation.
Where complete onsite generation is deemed unfeasible, contribution to off-site renewable production within the locality, with sufficient energy storage, and hourly matching of production and consumption, must be required (not optional as in the proposed decision paper). The current “Guarantees of Origin” scheme does not match the timing or geography of electricity production and consumption, thus causing increased fossil fuel consumption on the electricity grid to meet data centre demand at times when the renewables they have purportedly funded are not available, and placing further burden on transmission infrastructure to cater for data centre needs.
This should be done on a phased basis, such as the German EnEfG, by mandating 50% of their electricity consumption from renewable sources as of 2025 and 100% as of 2027.
CPPAs should only be used if the provider can prove their creation of new additionality within Ireland and on a time-limited basis while onsite renewables are being operationalised.
The CRU, or a newly defined body, should have the legal mandate to regulate all aspects of this process.

3. Strict demand-side enforcement of data centre water usage

As stated in the opening page of this policy the CRU’s mission is “to protect the public interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety”. However, the responsibility to mitigate the impacts of data centres on water usage has been largely abdicated within the LEU Connection Policy.
The EDD and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2464) (CSRD) will require that water usage from data centres is reported upon.
Notably, the 2020 hose pipe ban in the Dublin region exempted data centres, further highlighting the regulatory inequality these infrastructures can expose if not managed appropriately.
As the climate crisis worsens, the risk of drought is increasing, with the European Environmental Agency (EEA) stating that “that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world”.
Dublin, where most data centres are located, already has a particularly stressed water system which will require new, expensive infrastructure to mitigate. Crucially, 40% of all Dublin’s water supply comes from one source and the Chair of Uisce Eireann has recently warned that our water system is in a ‘desperate state’.
Currently, regulation of water usage by data centres is fragmented between Uisce Éireann, the Environmental Protection Agency and the CRU, hampering the effective regulation/monitoring of this critical resource by data centres. This also adds to the difficulty of obtaining reliable statistics on water usage by data centres in Ireland.

Policy asks:

New data centres should only be approved if they commit to renewable-powered cooling systems.
Where renewable-powered cooling systems are deemed inappropriate closed-loop cooling systems should be required.
Existing data centres with water cooling systems should be subject to real-time reporting and charged water abstraction levies where necessary.
Data centres should be charged new sector-specific levies, as LEUs, due to their increased water usage.
In the case of acute water shortages, data centres should be deprioritised to prevent negative impacts on affected communities.
The concept of constrained regions should apply to water usage in the same way it is utilised for electricity usage of data centres.

The CRU, or a newly defined body, should have the legal mandate to regulate all aspects of these processes.

4. District heating schemes by default unless proven otherwise unfit for the locality

As per the 2023 CCAC recommendations more "urgency and ambition” is needed for district heating systems for data centres.
Currently, there is only one data centre in Ireland that has been equipped for a district heating system. That data centre is in Tallaght.
Cost and regulatory concerns indicate that current and in-stream data centres are highly unlikely to be retrofitted for district heating systems.
Therefore, new data centre applications must be prioritised for such schemes, where it makes sense to do so.

Policy asks:

New data centres should be required to provide or contribute to an existing district heating system unless they can demonstrate that it is not technically or economically feasible, at the planning stage.
The CRU, or a newly defined body, should have the legal mandate to regulate all aspects of this process.

5. Data centres cannot exceed their contribution to an overall energy cap.

Data centres’ electricity usage is massively out of step with our European peers. As of 2022, the average electricity consumption across Europe ranged between 1.8–2.6% while Ireland sat at 18% at that same time (21% as of 2023 and continuing to grow).
The proposed strategy of necessitating on-site dispatchable fossil-fuel electricity generation is inappropriate as it puts our legally binding climate targets at risk. This is an unnecessary and shortsighted trade-off.
Instead, the guiding principle of the LEU Connection Policy should be bringing Ireland in-line with the European average, through various means and methods while encouraging decarbonisation in the sector.
The CRU should take inspiration from the German EnEfG as a forward-thinking approach to managing data centres within the EU, but take these instruments further due to the outlier situation in Ireland (German data centre electricity consumption sat at just 3%, as of 2022).

Policy asks:

The CRU should recommend a legislative energy cap, matching the European average, as the guiding principle for all data centres to adhere to.
A tiered system of data centres should be outlined to determine priority for new connections (e.g. essential services, commercial, sovereign cloud etc.)
Similar to the German EnEfG, phased mandates for PUE of existing data centres should be introduced with an aim for a PUE of 1.2 by 2030.
Existing data centres must produce regular reduction plans in order to achieve the national energy cap.
Data centres should be mandated to install battery storage, instead of fossil fuel generation, to shift and manage peak loads.
Data centre operators should face financial penalties or forced power-downs if they fail to adhere to reduction plans.
Adherence should be monitored through planning approval, annual audits and verifiable through a live public dashboard.
The Irish Government should invest in sovereign cloud services, such as France’s Bleu, to raise the industry standards and mitigate against unforeseen market shocks.
Community-owned microgrids, like the Brooklyn microgrid, should be encouraged to achieve national reductions while creating energy resilience, autonomy, employment and other financial benefits within communities.
The CRU, or a newly defined body, should have the legal mandate to regulate all aspects of this process.

6. A nationwide moratorium on data centres is imposed until the above policies are enacted.

To ensure that data centres do not undermine our climate commitments, a nationwide moratorium on the construction of new data centres is required.
A moratorium or “pause” on new data centres is supported by a majority of the Irish public, as evidenced by polling.

Policy asks:

The CRU extends the “de-facto moratorium” on data centres as imposed by the creation of "constrained" regions to cover all new connections to the grid.
The CRU recommends that the government enact a policy statement on data centres to enforce this moratorium across relevant planning authorities.
This policy statement stays in effect until the creation of a newly defined body or the CRU is provided a legal mandate to regulate all aspects concerning data centres in Ireland.

Review of Large Energy Users Connection Policy - Submissions

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