Amazon and Microsoft have canceled plans to build new data centers in Ireland, citing undue risk to Ireland’s power grid.
According to The Times, the tech giant has scrapped plans for a new data center in Dublin due to power shortages and fears of blackouts.
The decision to find alternative sites for Ireland’s three €2bn data centers follows a moratorium on data centers in the greater Dublin area announced last November.
Ireland’s national electricity company said the capital’s grid was overloaded and new data center applications would not connect to the grid until 2028.
An EirGrid spokesperson told The Times:
Amazon recently got permission to build two more data centers in Dublin despite opposition from environmental groups. However, EirGrid refused to connect them following a moratorium from the Irish Public Services Regulatory Commission (CRU).
Ireland has become a hotspot for US tech companies looking to set up data centers in Europe, but it looks like the country’s power grid won’t be able to keep up.
Last year, Ireland’s public services regulator warned that it could be stopped if more data centers were built.
Microsoft is reportedly considering alternative locations in London, Frankfurt and Madrid, while Amazon is considering UK sites in Didcot, Swindon and Bracknell.
Data centers consume huge amounts of electricity, taxing power grids around the world. Authorities have stopped building new housing in west London until 2035 because data centers are already running out of electrical capacity.
EirGrid previously predicted that data centers would account for a quarter of Ireland’s electricity consumption by 2030.
Ireland has the perfect climate to keep data centers cool and some of the lowest corporate taxes in the world, allowing the tech giant to pocket most of its profits.
So it’s no surprise that US companies like Google, Facebook and Apple are making inroads into the emerald isle.
has reached out to Amazon and Microsoft for comment.
Source: Metro
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