Michael McCarthy
Director of Cloud Infrastructure Ireland, Ibec
Discover how cloud infrastructure can unlock Ireland’s offshore wind potential and help to grow a decarbonised economy.
Ireland has an abundance of natural wind resources and ambitious targets for offshore wind (OSW). It is also a global leader in digital infrastructure. Ireland has an outstanding opportunity to capitalise on the synergies between these two sectors and deliver on its climate, economic and social goals.
Ireland’s offshore wind targets
As part of its decarbonisation commitments, Ireland has set targets to increase offshore wind capacity from just a single 25 MW demonstration project to 5GW by 2030. This is enough to generate more electricity than the whole of Ireland’s current wind and solar capacity, with a further quadrupling to 20 GW OSW targeted by 2040. Ireland also has an ambitious digitalisation strategy to bring benefits across the economy, society and public services. Cloud infrastructure is a key enabler of this digitalisation and could also be a key enabler of OSW.
The tech sector is expected to be
key to supporting the delivery of
new OSW projects in Irish waters.
Tech sector’s role in offshore wind
The tech sector is expected to be key to supporting the delivery of new OSW projects in Irish waters. Large tech companies are uniquely positioned to sign corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) that can help ensure such projects get built. These CPPAs — long-term contracts that allow companies to buy the electricity that will be generated from renewable energy projects — will help de-risk the investment underpinning new OSW projects and provide the revenue certainty that their developers require. Tech companies are already world leaders in supporting renewable energy in this way.
Importance of data centres
Michael McCarthy, Director of CII, says: “The role that data centres are poised to play in enabling Ireland’s OSW ambitions has, until now, been little understood. The reality is that there is little point in producing huge amounts of OSW in Ireland unless there is a robust market in place to consume it. Data centres are the ideal such market, given their demand profile and the decarbonisation they, in turn, enable across society.”
The decarbonisation of Ireland’s energy system and the digitalisation of the economy are vital to enhance Ireland’s competitiveness and its capacity to attract more foreign direct investment. That is why the development of offshore wind and the strengthening of Ireland’s cloud infrastructure is so important.
