Apple data centre delayed

There's an interesting twist in the Apple data centre saga as An Bord Pleanala have raised questions about it's renewable credentials :

"An Bord Pleanála’s second issue is how Apple will make good on its promise to power the centre entirely from renewable energy. The letter said: “No site or project-specific information regarding renewable energy projects is provided and details of how they might be connected to the proposed development is required.”

Obviously, most of Apple's claims about renewable energy are hocus pocus designed to appeal to young hipsters but now they will actually have to back up their claims with a plan based on engineering reality rather than ideology. Things could get tricky for them.

‘The Cloud’ Bytes Back - how Data Centres will cost Ireland dearly

Guest Post By David Hughes B. Arch CPMA, RIAI RIBA 

Cloud computing is now part of everyday life. From streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix to search engines and email from companies like Google and Yahoo to online storage services like DropBox… ‘The Cloud’ is both everywhere and yet seemingly invisible.

However in spite of its name, ‘The Cloud’ has some very earth bound needs and truly massive energy requirements. In fact, somewhat aptly, ‘The Cloud’ has overtaken world aviation in terms of its overall energy demand. 

These days Ireland seems to be a preferred location for the cloud’s physical footprint - data centres. These data centres will not simply serve Ireland’s data needs but the needs of all of Europe and beyond. This multiplies their energy impact on Ireland enormously and when you analyse the consequences, it is hard to see any silver lining.

To give an example Apple are seeking permission for a 240MW data centre in Athenry Co. Galway, which will create up to 215 jobs. The electricity consumption of this data centre will be the same as 420,000 Irish homes. This is ¼ of all Irish homes or every single house in Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire, Fingal and South County Dublin combined. Basically, the electricity needs of 1 Million people.

Electricity is a very expensive and capital-intensive form of energy. For every kWh coming out of a socket 2.7 kWh of Primary energy needs to be inputted at source. The transmission and distribution infrastructure or ‘grid’ is also massively expensive. This cost is ‘socialised’ and can account for 75% of a domestic electricity bill.

Cost Benefit Analysis?

As a society we may accept such costs to provide a benefit to 420,000 homes but is it really justifiable to socialise the same demand again for only 215 jobs? And Apple is only but one data centre.

Facebook’s 108MW centre will only create 40 jobs and use the energy of 180,000 homes.

In fact in total 1,000MW of data centres are projected for Ireland so on a pro rata basis will use the same energy demand as every home in Ireland.

40% Renewable Commitment.

In 2009 Ireland made a commitment to generate 40% of electricity from renewables. If we add this level of extra demand this makes that target much harder to achieve.

Last year the EPA stated that in relation to our 20:20:20 targets, we are only likely to achieve reductions of between 5% and 12% instead of the full 20% required. The SEAI calculates that the fine for this could be €1.6 Billion per annum.

The full 1,000MW of data centres could add 37% to overall electricity demand and will make our renewable targets proportionally harder to reach, the fines even higher again and last but not least will undo all of the CO₂ savings to date.

In the end, trying to chase this growing demand from data centres, will spawn further Wind Farms, Pylons and Transmission lines and will leave the Irish with a second  ‘Universal Social Charge’ this time for either paying an EU fine or paying for the ‘grid’ or both.

Time for a Debate.

Given these figures it’s time for a debate on ‘The Cloud’ in Ireland. Are the numbers of jobs created in anyway justified in terms of its energy demands?

The responsibility seems to fall between a myriad of different agencies and departments pursuing different agendas but each with a focus too narrow to look at the bigger picture. As a result to date, data centres have slipped through the net unchallenged.

We are at a cross roads in terms of whether we follow a route of demand reduction or increase, however ‘The Cloud’ could create the perfect storm and sink Ireland into decades of legacy costs for very expensive and unnecessary electrical infrastructure, which could be just as painful as paying back the inflated property prices that lead to the bank bailout.

Apple-wocky

Today it was announced that Apple have got planning permission for their data centre in Galway.

There will be no energy generating facilities at the site but eventually the company says it hopes to be in a position to support and drive new projects that would supply the entire power supply needs of the facility.

So no windmills or solar panels to be built nearby. So what are their real intentions ?

Apple says it will offset all the energy it uses from the national grid by purchasing the same amount from renewable energy providers and supplying that back onto the grid.

I think we need a Humpy Dumpty to provide an explanation for this Apple-wocky gobbledygook. 

We can make an analogy with someone doing their shopping to try to help us understand :

Peter says he will offset all his grocery purchases from M&S by purchasing the same amount from local markets and supplying this produce back into the market.

Are you any the wiser ? Why would any rational sane person do this ?

Eirgrid forecast higher demand than during the boom

In Eirgrid's recent capacity statement, given a recovery scenario, demand for electricity by 2019 is forecast to equal demand at the height of the boom and after this it is forecast to exceed these levels.





Ireland, like the UK, has a low energy to GDP ratio. We barely manufacture anything here, most of it is outsourced to China and India, so what exactly are Eirgrid expecting ? Perhaps there will be another industrial revolution, this time in Ireland.

It appears that Eirgrid are basing these high forecasts on data centres such as Apple moving to Ireland:

After some years of decline, demand in Ireland has shown some signs of increase. In the near future, more growth is expected to come from the expanding data centre sector which already accounts for over 200 MW of demand, and which is incorporated in our demand forecasts

 This means that data centres are highly energy intensive, consuming power equivalent to half the output of a conventional gas power plant on full load (Gas plants are usually 400MW). If this is the case, then erratic wind energy can in no way ever provide sufficient reliable power to a data centre. Some form of conventional back up power supply will always be required.

So why are these data companies always held up as a shining example by the green movement ?

But in any event, I will put my blogger reputation on the line, and predict that these demand levels will not materialize. The rising cost of electricity for industry will surely drive any heavy industry out that might consider re-locating here.

Apple data centre a great boost for Galway but please spare us the Green Propaganda

There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community - Oscar Wilde

Apple's new data centre in Galway will bring 100 long term jobs, according to Minister Richard Bruton, jobs that are very much welcome to this region of the country. Much was made by the usual suspects about how the centre was going to be powered by 100% renewables. But the reality was far less romantic :

Apple has promised that it will use renewable energy, but local residents have been told that this does not involve construction of a wind farm – rather the company will purchase power from a renewable energy provider. 

Of course, there is no such thing as a renewable energy provider, all electricity providers provide electricity from the same grid with the same fuel mix and a frequency set by synchronous fossil fuel power. So that was took some amount of PR, Spin and double-speak to get from the data centre will use the same grid power as everyone else to the data centre will be powered from 100% renewables. 

As the local councillor said “This is a very significant investment, and the only by-product will be a lot of hot air.” - Well, quite.

Data centres consume quite a bit of power but we are told that Ireland’s high electricity costs – 30 per cent more now than in 2010, which is well above the European average – will be offset by the temperate location, which presumably will assist in the cooling of the servers and units. I cant find any data but I would imagine that a conventional manufacturing plant would use more electricity, but I would be interested in opinions on this.

Both Apple and the Green movement / Wind industry are very much dependent on China for the mining of rare earths. There is not a whole pile of information available on this as one would expect from a Communist regime, but I would suggest a couple of articles which reveal some of the hypocrisy involved in Western movements :

In China, the true cost of Britain's clean, green wind power experiment: Pollution on a disastrous scale - The Daily Mail

Rare-earth mining in China comes at a heavy cost for local villages - The Guardian

PETER HITCHENS: How China has created a new slave empire in Africa - The Daily Mail

Of course, most manufacturing and high tech industries involve some degree of environmental impact and it would be unfair to single out one or two but the reason I bring this subject up here is because the movements and industries which espouse green principles and credentials in reality share just the same reliance on raw materials and fossilfuel energy as any other.  

For example, most people in Ireland believe that nuclear power is bad because of the waste by-products but likewise, most believe that wind power is clean because there are no by-products. The facts are that both sources of power result in waste by-products - the only difference is with wind, the by-product lies in a lake thousands of miles away on another continent, out of sight and out of mind. 

As someone long ago once said, ignorance is bliss.