COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 09, 2024

QUESTION NO.46

QUESTION: Councillor F. Timmons

To ask the Chief Executive for a report into the efforts SDCC are making to offset the carbon emissions created by data centres in the county given that, according to the Central Statistics Office, data centres were responsible for 21% of all electricity consumed in the state during 2023.

REPLY:

SDCC County Development Plan (2022 – 2028) recognises the continued growth of Data Centres nationally, and in particular the South Dublin Area.  The growth is attributed to the social and technology needs such as 5G, smart cities and artificial intelligence. The Development Plan acknowledges space extensive land uses, such as data centres, generally have a higher carbon footprint due to the energy demand. Through policy within the plan, high energy users are required to demonstrate ways to reduce their energy use, in particular use of fossil fuels and to redistribute energy for other end users where such potential exists. Furthermore, developments of this type must demonstrate,

• Strong energy efficiency measures to reduce their carbon footprint in support of national targets towards a net zero carbon economy, including renewable energy generation;
• Maximise on site renewable energy generation to ensure as far as possible 100% powered by renewable energy, where on site demand cannot be met in this way, provide evidence of engagement with power purchase agreements in Ireland (PPA);

It should be noted, due to targets of the National Climate Action Plan 2024, in the coming years further reductions in carbon footprints of data centre operations, can be expected.  The National CAP has set a target of 80% of electricity generated in 2030, must be from renewable sources. This will be achieved with the continued development of onshore and offshore wind generation, and further development of solar energy.

In addition, SDCC Climate Action Plan (2024-2029) includes a range of actions for which the Council can influence, co-ordinate, facilitate and advocate climate action in other sectors. The aims to support other sectors and local communities in building resilience to the negative impacts of climate change and in tackling the causes of climate change. This is necessary to ensure that the environmental, social and economic benefits that can come with climate action can be fully realised.  Several actions in the Community Engagement Action Area of the Plan highlight how SDCC will work with external partners, such as data centre operators to deliver national climate targets. Through these actions, the local authority can influence, co-ordinate and facilitate and advocate actions which will reduce carbon emissions in data centres.

Through the policy as stated above, SDCC successfully delivered the Tallaght District Heating Network. The project, which was partly funded by the European Union’s Interreg NEW programme Heatnet, Project Ireland 2040 Climate Action Fund, SEAI and through direct funding from SDCC, uses excess heat from Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) data centre to provide low carbon heat to the network customers, currently SDCC and Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). AWS has included heat-collection systems in their new facility which provides this recycled heat at no cost as part of its broader sustainability commitments. This first phase of delivery, the carbon emissions reduction in the Tallaght area will be over 1,500 tonnes per year. SDCC continues to work with industries and businesses to identify means to improve processes, and, where possible, capture excess energy generated to be used as a alternate clean energy source.