Google has warned that any ban on developing data centers in Ireland could be lifted and that it could seriously hamper the country’s transition to a digital and green economy.

In a detailed submission to the Utilities Regulatory Commission (CRU), the tech giant said it would avoid any moratorium on data center development “at all costs”.

Google has said it will send the “wrong signal” about Ireland’s ambitions as a digital economy and endanger businesses that want to use cloud services.

Google has said it wants to continue investing in data center infrastructure in the country, but a moratorium will “make it impossible”.

The multinational warned that data centers in Dublin should be able to rely on access to the electricity grid and that any “uncertainty” about this would be “bad for business”.

Google has said that any changes to CRU’s planned data center policy should be temporary, as long – term solutions to Ireland’s power shortages have been found.

Electrical capacity

In his submission, he called for more transparency in the current power capacity of the Irish grid, adding that the data center needed more clarity and openness in Irgrid’s forecasts to predict growth in power consumption.

Google proposed a new pricing system for data center operators that reserved more capacity than they ultimately needed, or was too slow to reach that capacity.

“Transmission pricing can be designed in such a way that customers who do not increase demand for maximum reservation will be charged more than those who show annual growth,” he said.

“I understand Ireland’s current problems with power supply, but they can be solved with a long – term approach,” he said.

Google was particularly concerned about any plans to block the development of data centers locally or in Dublin, saying it came at its own risk.

“The demand for cloud computing is growing in Dublin, and many cloud services need to be provided by data centers close to the user, which means that these services cannot be provided to remote data centers based on customer needs. From Dublin.”

Distribution issues

Google says it will pilot an on-site battery shortage at a data center in Belgium, but that technology is still in its infancy.

A dedicated submission of Amazon Web Services (AWS) said Ireland had previously missed opportunities to resolve distribution issues.

“Over the past decade, there have been opportunities to deploy reinforcements, prepare the network for growth and investment, and equip the network for more frequent resource integration. ⁇

Amazon Web Services has announced that it is exploring suggestions that it may prioritize connections to data centers in areas with “unrestricted” power grids.

However, given the restrictions on power supply across the country, it is “not certain” that such a site exists in Ireland.

She said she could not support any initiative to turn fossil fuel generators into dependent data centers for backup supplies.

These documents are among the eight tenders that CRU secretly received last year as part of a consultation on the development of data centers in Ireland. They were released under access to the Environmental Information Regulations.

However, the limited company that sent the release of a submission to the CRU appealed. The other two were retained for reasons of commercial sensitivity.