Poll shows public want energy prioritised for housing and essential services, not data centres

New polling, conducted by Savanta, and commissioned by Beyond Fossil Fuels, has revealed that people in Ireland overwhelmingly want Ireland’s energy supply to be prioritised for housing and public services over data centres.

The polling revealed strong public awareness that data centres already account for a large share of national energy consumption in Ireland and revealed strong public concern regarding the threat that further data centre growth poses to Ireland’s water supplies and surrounding ecosystems.

There is a strong public desire for regulation of the data centre industry, for a requirement that new data centres be powered by renewable energy, and for the Government to establish specific social criteria for prioritising energy distribution.

The polling underlines the need for a moratorium on new data centre connections in accordance with Ireland’s climate law.

Commenting on the polling results, Rosi Leonard, data centre campaigner with Friends of the Earth said:

The Government’s failure to regulate data centres is placing massive strain on our energy grid, using up energy that is desperately needed to power our homes and public services. This polling shows that the general public shares Friends of the Earth’s concerns about energy and resource use by data centres and wants to see Government action to address it. It’s very clear that people want to see housing and public services prioritised for access to energy. If the Irish Government chooses to protect communities and prioritise energy for housing and essential services by putting the brakes on Big Tech’s power grab, they will have the support of the public behind them. We’re urging the Government to bring in a moratorium on new data centre connections in accordance with the climate law”.