#Ireland embraced #DataCenters that the #AI boom needs. Now they’re consuming too much of its energy

By MATT O’BRIEN
December 19, 2024

CLONDALKIN, Ireland (AP) — "Dozens of massive data centers humming at the outskirts of #Dublin are consuming more electricity than all of the urban homes in Ireland and starting to wear out the warm welcome that brought them here.

"Now, a country that made itself a computing factory for #Amazon, #Google, #Meta, #Microsoft and #TikTok is wondering whether it was all worth it as tech giants look around the world to build even more data centers to fuel the next wave of #ArtificialIntelligence.

"Fears of #RollingBlackouts led Ireland’s grid operator to halt new data centers near Dublin until 2028. These huge buildings and their powerful computers last year consumed 21% of the nation’s electricity, according to official records. No other country has reported a higher burden to the International Energy Agency.

"Not only that, but Ireland is still heavily reliant on burning #FossilFuels to generate electricity, despite a growing number of wind farms sprouting across the countryside. Further data center expansion threatens Ireland’s goals to sharply cut planet-warming emissions.

"Ireland is a 'microcosm of what many countries could be facing over the next decade, particularly with the growth of AI,' said energy researcher Paul Deane of University College Cork."

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