Social Democrats Climate spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore has expressed concerns about the impact of the new Private Wires Bill on electricity demand and supply.<\/p>\n
She made her comments as volunteers and community groups across the country today marked a National Day of Action on Data Centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteers and community groups across the country are raising awareness about the negative impact of a surge in data centres on our energy security, supply and prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2015, data centres consumed just five percent of our electricity supply, with that figure now standing at 23 percent and on course to reach 30 percent by 2030. This level of explosive growth is unsustainable \u2013 both for our environment and our grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surge in data centres in recent years is such that their electricity demand has outpaced the growth in renewable energy \u2013 meaning we are not reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, but rather that additional supply is being soaked up by energy-guzzling data centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t just have a hugely negative impact on our grid \u2013 which is falling apart at the seams \u2013 it also contributes to electricity prices here being among the most expensive in the EU because surging demand feeds into higher prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of announcing polices to curb or manage the increase in data centres, the government is rolling out the red carpet for them. A new Private Wires Bill will lead to a free-for-all with data centres, for the first time, being given the power to connect their own power lines to energy generation \u2013 thereby bypassing the grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of data centres being connected directly to wind or solar energy farms, this means data centres consuming all of that additional renewable energy \u2013 leaving the grid dependent on fossil fuels, with higher prices for residential consumers as a consequence of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, as Friends of the Earth have pointed out, if a data centre with a private wire keeps their connection to the grid, they will pay less to EirGrid and ESBN because they are using less electricity through that connection. However, the system operators must still maintain full capacity for it, so their costs do not decrease.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means that not only will data centres pay less, the remaining network costs would be shifted onto other customers, including households already facing exorbitant energy bill<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, the Bill, in is current format, does not expressly prohibit direct connection to fossil fuel generators \u2013 which is hugely worrying. This Bill, which is being sold to take pressure off the grid, could actually make the situation even worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the last government excelled at climate rhetoric, but failed dismally at climate action, the current government haven\u2019t even maintained a veneer of caring about the climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of turbocharging data centres all over the country, what is needed is a moratorium until we are clear about the level of capacity that exists in our grid to cater for these voracious energy and water consumers. We also need much more information about the impact of this Private Wires Bill on plans to decarbonise our energy system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current crisis in the Middle East has put our dependence on fossil fuels in stark relief, with prices shooting up here within hours of the conflicting starting. Successive governments have done virtually nothing to wean the country off its addiction to fossil fuels \u2013 and we are now on course to miss our climate targets by a country mile and incur penalties of up to \u20ac26 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n
March 11th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats Climate spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore has expressed concerns about the impact of the new Private Wires Bill on electricity demand and supply. She made her comments as volunteers and community groups across the country today marked a National Day of Action on Data Centres. \u201cVolunteers and community groups across the country are raising awareness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[676,268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-centres","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n