The Data Centres Ireland conference has highlighted the key role that wind power will have for the data centre sector in Ireland – driving down the cost of energy, supporting future growth, and facilitating the Government’s pledge to generate 70% of electricity from renewables by 2030.
According to Dr David Connolly, Ceo of the Irish Wind Energy Association, around 35% of energy now comes from renewables, in the region.
Speaking at Data Centres Ireland, Dr David Connolly said that wind energy will be key to the sector going forward: “Ireland is now number three in the world for wind energy concentration on the power grid. As an island nation, this is a phenomenal achievment.
“We have built over 200 wind farms in the Republic of Ireland, over the past 20 years. Around one-third of Ireland’s electricity comes from wind energy. By 2020, we hope to reach 40% of energy coming from renewables in Ireland, with wind accounting for 35-36%.”
Dr Connolly commented that, over the next 10 years, wind energy will be the backbone of Ireland’s climate change action and will be key to providing power to the region’s data centres.
“There is no shortage of wind energy. You keep building your data centres and we will keep providing you with power,” said Dr Connolly. He added that the price of green energy is also now cheaper than traditional sources of energy.
Host In Ireland President, Garry Connolly, commented that Ireland’s 2030 commitment to secure 70% renewable energy has helped fuel the attractiveness of Dublin as a destination for data centre construction.
“Across the industry, we have previously pointed to Amazon’s recent investment of €200 million in the construction of a wind farm off Donegal without subsidies, the first of its kind in Ireland. It’s expected that such investments will continue to be made in the coming years. We look forward to the developments in the industry in 2020 as data centres positively impact Ireland’s commercial construction and energy sectors,” said Garry Connolly.
Data Centres Ireland is taking place at Dublin, 19-20 November 2019.
