Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity • Hacker News Board

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#221

Post by alephnerd » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:06 AM UTC

bawolff wrote: post #218

alephnerd wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The 13% of GDP figure can be a bit misleading as GDP from being a tax haven tends to help the average irish citizen a lot less than more traditional ecconomic activity As I pointed out, if Ireland didn't adopt it's tech FDI policy which it did in the 1990s, it would be a much poorer country today. Going from Libyan, Soviet, and Greek to Finland level living standards in 30 years was not guaranteed, and it was Irela…

> As I pointed out, if Ireland didn't adopt it's tech FDI policy which it did in the 1990s, it would be a much poorer country today. Perhaps, but if you want to measure the effect it had on ordinary Irish people you should be using GNI not GDP. I'm not saying it had no effect, just that GDP is a misleading measure.

Hence who I used both HDI and median household income.

And even with GNI my argument still holds. I'm surprised how so many HNers don't remember how poor Ireland used to be until 20-30 years ago, especially given how most HNers are in their 30s to 40s.

Ireland, South Korea, and Israel are the poster children of developing countries that successfully escaping the middle income trap and climbing up the economic value chain back in the 2010s.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#222

Post by s1artibartfast » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:10 AM UTC

Schiendelman wrote: post #208

hudo wrote: post #96

And got electricity price hike last year, and now few weeks ago again, from ~25c kwh, to around 35c kwh! They say its reliance on fossil fuels. Not just that, think Ireland has one of the most expensive broadbands in the EU!

If you're up to 35c/kWh, solar panels are almost definitely cost effective for you.

depends on where you are. In some parts of California you are out $10-20k just for the permitting and panel upgrade.

Then there are proposals to charge homeowners based on insalled capacity. Part of NEM 3.0 in California was a $8/month per KW, but it was defeated. Who is to say it wont be back in 4.0? that would be about a $1000/yr fee for a 10 kw home system.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#223

Post by SR2Z » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:12 AM UTC

cma wrote: post #174

mrtksn wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course value is created, the problem is that the value is not created for the people who endure the issues and the pricing is apparently wrong. It is similar to building a SPAM factory somewhere people live on pork, paying higher prices for the pigs and buy all the pigs but not enough for the people who sold you the pigs to use the proceeds to increase the number of pigs or replace them with some other source and…

Not exactly the spam example, but Ireland remained a net exporter of food during the potato famine. The good farmland went to cattle and things like that for export.

Wasn't the famine a potato-specific blight?

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#224

Post by protocolture » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:14 AM UTC

rogerrogerr wrote: post #146

cadamsdotcom wrote: post #135

Just to be contrarian: what we're talking about is "electricity use from economic activity". This should be good for Ireland but they'll need to build energy capacity to keep up. It's misplaced to be angry about datacenters themselves. There IS value being created, or people wouldn't use the tools. Construction creates jobs, manufacturing the machines in the buildings is a huge global industry; the value people gain…

> There IS value being created, or people wouldn't use the tools. While I do think there is value being created, I think this form of argument is not as watertight as it appears at first glance. Humans are very capable of behaving irrationally. I think there is a lot of harmful, negative “work” being done by AI today. Creating fake videos for Facebook, running girlfriend bots, automated scams, etc. Even employees jus…

Theres no reason for AI hate to bleed over to Data Center hate.

I really cant be stuffed defending AI. It either succeeds or it doesnt. But we get so much value from Data Centers and there's basically no one lauding them as an industry. Its like people waking up one morning and hating trains.

Its like people just discovered they existed yesterday and hate them for no reason.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#225

Post by wat10000 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:14 AM UTC

s1artibartfast wrote: post #217

wat10000 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the same reasoning apply to student loans? Is the lender engaging in slavery by claiming entitlement to a portion of the student’s future labor?

No, student loans are not slavery for two reasons. First, the borrower agreed and signed a contract. Second, the debt owner is the one calling it due. This is substantially different than expecting control on how debt free doctors or engineers spend their time or what jobs they work. The crux of this is that externalty price analysis is only useful when bounded by real harms and property rights . Otherwise, anyone ca…

The doctors would also have agreed and signed a contract. And the debt owner i.e. the state is calling it due.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#226

Post by Schiendelman » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:17 AM UTC

s1artibartfast wrote: post #222

Schiendelman wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're up to 35c/kWh, solar panels are almost definitely cost effective for you.

depends on where you are. In some parts of California you are out $10-20k just for the permitting and panel upgrade. Then there are proposals to charge homeowners based on insalled capacity. Part of NEM 3.0 in California was a $8/month per KW, but it was defeated. Who is to say it wont be back in 4.0? that would be about a $1000/yr fee for a 10 kw home system.

It would only apply to new installations, even in last year's proposal.

I'm not aware of any part of California where a permit and panel upgrade would cost more than $7000.

But if you're in those parts of California, your price is also 55c/kWh, not 35c. So... you're still better off.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#227

Post by davkan » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:20 AM UTC

SR2Z wrote: post #223

cma wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly the spam example, but Ireland remained a net exporter of food during the potato famine. The good farmland went to cattle and things like that for export.

Wasn't the famine a potato-specific blight?

Yes but the death toll was in large part because of Britain forcing the Irish to export everything that wasn’t a potato among a myriad of other oppressive practices.

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#228

Post by loeg » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:26 AM UTC

Schiendelman wrote: post #207

loeg wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle is nearer 14c (13.75) and likely to increase over the next decade (because of nonsense like[1]). [1]: This alone will increase costs by something like 4c/kWh from these 70 year old dams: https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/skagit-riv...

Seattle now has variable rate. I pull most of my power at night, when it's 8c/kWh.

Nice. I had heard they were planning this, but last time I looked into it, they hadn't rolled it out yet. You have some kind of home battery?

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#229

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:26 AM UTC

cadamsdotcom wrote: post #135

Just to be contrarian: what we're talking about is "electricity use from economic activity". This should be good for Ireland but they'll need to build energy capacity to keep up. It's misplaced to be angry about datacenters themselves. There IS value being created, or people wouldn't use the tools. Construction creates jobs, manufacturing the machines in the buildings is a huge global industry; the value people gain…

"Just to be contrarian: ..."

Contrarian to the article or to other HN commenters

This article reports on facts, i.e., the CSO data primarily. It also mentions the existence of controversy

It is not taking a position for or against anything

What does it mean to be "contrarian" with respect to an article like this one

To me, this weird defensive behaviour, i.e., absurd attempts to "argue in favour of data centers", is what raises a red flag

The reporting of facts on energy and water use, i.e., data, triggers this behaviour from HN commenters, as opposed to being triggered by the people who are protesting or campaigning against data centers. This article and many others like it have no hint of "anger" whatsoever. The authors are not taking sides in any debate

Then we have companies actively trying to conceal data about data centers. This sort of behaviour is, IMHO, a red flag

If data centers "have value" and are needed despite their impacts, and the proof of this is that "people are using AI" then what's the problem

Why respond to articles that simply report usage statistics (cf. responding to angry protesters or legislation aimed at regulating data center construction)

The article is not taking a position for or against the construction and operation of data centers

Re: Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity

#230

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 » Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #229

cadamsdotcom wrote: post #135

Just to be contrarian: what we're talking about is "electricity use from economic activity". This should be good for Ireland but they'll need to build energy capacity to keep up. It's misplaced to be angry about datacenters themselves. There IS value being created, or people wouldn't use the tools. Construction creates jobs, manufacturing the machines in the buildings is a huge global industry; the value people gain…

"Just to be contrarian: ..." Contrarian to the article or to other HN commenters This article reports on facts, i.e., the CSO data primarily. It also mentions the existence of controversy It is not taking a position for or against anything What does it mean to be "contrarian" with respect to an article like this one To me, this weird defensive behaviour, i.e., absurd attempts to "argue in favour of data centers", is…

For example, this is from another article in the The Irish Times:

"Data centres accounted for almost a quarter of the electricity consumed in Ireland last year, up from 5 per cent in 2015, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Tuesday, amid continuing public debate around the strain the sector is putting on Irish energy infrastructure."

A total of 7,663 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from Ireland's expanding grid capacity was used by data centres in 2025, up 10 per cent from 6,973GWh in 2024.

Consumption by all other users, including households, rose by just 2 per cent over the same period, the statistics agency said.

In total, data centres alone accounted for 23 per cent of metered electricity consumption last year, up from just over a fifth in 2024.

The latest CSO figures also reveal that data centres increased their electricity consumption on a quarterly basis, from 291 GWh in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,991 GWh in the fourth quarter of last year."

These are just facts. The aricle is not arguing for or against anything

But HN commenters get triggered by such reporting

That's a red flag, IMHO