Originally Published to Data Center POST.
Host In Ireland, a strategic global initiative created to raise awareness of the benefits of hosting digital assets in Ireland, recently announced the release of their report “Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2018 Q3 Update.” Done in collaboration with Bitpower, the report highlights the continued growth of Ireland’s data center industry and gives an overview of its prioritized use of green energies. The report also outlines the completion of new Hyperscale and Build to Suit facilities in the third quarter of 2018.
The report, supplemental to Host In Ireland’s previous updates to their “Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry 2018 Update” series, analyzes the history and growth of renewables and discusses Ireland’s new facilities. Ireland has recently added several new sites to their growing list of data centers, most notably Facebook’s newest presence in Clonee. The Facebook site will be hiring 300 full-time employees and plans to be fully sustained by renewable energies. In addition to Facebook, other large companies with presences in Ireland, such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft, have committed to (and in some cases already achieved) 100 percent renewable energy resources for their Ireland data centers.
The Q3 update notes that the greenest energy is energy that is not used. It examines the steps Ireland is taking to continue their pursuit of the highest possible data center efficiency. In 2017, 29 percent of Ireland’s grid electricity was generated from renewable resources. By 2020, the country aims to increase that number up to 40 percent, while the goal for 2030 is 70 percent. The overview examines what systems, processes and technologies have allowed contemporary data centers to come so far from their 2000s-era counterparts, or even improve upon their more recent iterations. Tools like virtualisation, power usage effectiveness (PuE) metric benchmarks and hot aisle containment designs are among some of the strategies that allow for more efficient data centre operations.
In particular, the update notes the Excellence in Energy Efficient Design program as particularly beneficial for this endeavor. This Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)-supported program augments efficiency and sustainability by offering grants and capital supports for new designs and systematic technology adoptions.
By providing this timely and accurate briefing on the Irish data center market’s activity, Host in Ireland hopes the update will serve as a helpful baseline and useful reference for policymakers. The creation of this report underpins Ireland’s leadership in the creation, retention and exporting of digital products.
