Rain Check

This week’s episode is a dive into data centres. Across Europe they consume about 3% of the grid’s electricity, but in Ireland, that figure is over 21%. Eirgrid expect that to rise to 30% in the next 5 years. Can our grid and our water system cope with that, and should it? What’s the link between data centres and plans to import fracked LNG? And what will AI mean for data centre demand? Paul Murphy was in studio to discuss this and more.

Video clips on instagram https://www.instagram.com/redalertdublin/

‘Data centres in the context of Ireland’s carbon budgets’
Hannah Daly’s December 2024 report https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/assets/files/pdf/data_centrres_and_the_carbon_budgets_-_prof_hannah_daly_dec_2024.pdf 

New York Times article on low employment from data centres https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/technology/cloud-computing-brings-sprawling-centers-but-few-jobs-to-small-towns.html?_r=1 

Public meeting at Buswells on new LNG terminal https://www.instagram.com/p/DHrKRf2sSld/ 

Campaign websitehttps://stopshannonlng.ie/ 

Politico article on buying LNG to appease Trump https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-emissions-rules-us-oil-gas-firms-lng-exports-donald-trump-trade-war/  

Oisin Coghlan (Director of Friend of the Earth Ireland) on LNG v coal
“The science is clear that importing LNG is worse than burning coal. We may as well just keep Moneypoint on the go for energy security as build a new LNG terminal." https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/campaigners-call-on-tds-to-vote-against-planning-bill-if-it/ 

Increased data centre demand from AI https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/AI-poised-to-drive-160-increase-in-power-demand 

Increased data centre demand https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/global-data-center-electricity-use-to-double-by-2026-report/ 

Comparing EU countries by data centre electricity use https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135926 

Shannon LNG plans to develop data centres https://www.businesspost.ie/news/ireland-part-of-new-fortress-energys-plans-to-develop-data-centres-on-more-than-1000-acres-of-lan/    

Recorded on Thursday the 27th of March, 2025.

Energy systems engineer Sarah Cullen on the break up of the ESB, the impacts of extreme weather, the power of trade associations, and the case for a Department of Energy: a critique of how energy policy is made in Ireland. 

Sarah Cullen has worked in solar, nuclear, and public consultation. 

She co-founded the group 18 for 0 which calls for the government to commission science-based models of how to decarbonise Ireland’s energy system and to consider all available technologies including nuclear power. 

https://www.18for0.ie/ 

This interview was recorded in person on the 4th of September

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is sometimes framed as a necessary evil to guarantee energy security and a better alternative to coal. This interview with Kerryman Johnny McElligott tackles those questions head-on. McElligott also gives the inside story on so-called ‘good faith’ payments to Kerry Co Council and the impact of the war in Ukraine. 

To find out more

John McElligott ‘s website    http://safetybeforelng.ie/    features updates on the proposed LNG development, original sources and the proposal’s history.
Twitter @SafetyBeforeLng

2019 Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action debate on hydraulic fracturing with statements from scientist Paul Howarth, Julia Walsh of Frack Action and Johnny McElligott  https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/joint_committee_on_climate_action/2019-10-09/

Open letter to Eamon Ryan https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AxkPMyMh83L0yaMwtN2a5FDblfCM7v6iM-1Fc9RWdKY/preview 

‘Ryan mulls Green policy U-turn on commercial LNG terminal’  Business Post, 9 Apr 2023  https://www.businesspost.ie/news/ryan-mulls-green-policy-u-turn-on-commercial-lng-terminal/  

“In the last six months, Ireland reduced its natural gas consumption by 0.3%, falling far behind the EU average of 19%”  Irish Examiner, Feb 2023 https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41077424.html 

Johnny McElligott video https://twitter.com/sli_eile_/status/1555559691010428928?s=20 

Climate Camp will run again this year from 9-13 August 2023. This time in Leitrim. https://climatecampireland.ie/   Forum/gathering/festival

What has happened to Ireland’s own gas fields?
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/state-losing-billions-in-natural-gas-giveaway-1.787657 
https://www.historyireland.com/sale-of-the-centurythe-500-deal-for-irelands-gas-and-oil/ 

 

Recorded 24 April 2023
Rain Check is on twitter @RedAlertDublin

John Gibbons on how RTE cover climate change, the weather in Europe, the citizens assembly on biodiversity loss, and the years ahead. 

John Gibbons is a regular contributor to the Buisness Post and the Irish Examiner.
He has featured on Newstalk, RTE, Virgin, the Mario Rosenstock podcast, Eamon Dunphy’s podcast and 2day FM where his weekly climate slot on the Matt Cooper show has been running for over 2 years. 
He’s the choice candidate of Irish EVs to replace Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show.

Featured on the episode

40m passenger movements per anum through Dublin airport (Irish Times) https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2022/09/12/dublin-airport-passenger-numbers-could-hit-40m/ 

Gibbons recent analysis on biodiversity loss (Irish Examiner)
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41115655.html 

John Gibbons
Website  https://www.climatechange.ie/ 

Twitter https://twitter.com/think_or_swim?lang=en 

John Gibbons on ‘You’re worth it’ and his climate realisation
https://www.goloudnow.com/podcasts/how-to-with-the-communications-clinic-672/how-to-communicate-challenging-information-with-john-gibbons-248927

Presentation on how real and present the climate emergency is, minus the jargon.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K56cy_plsLc
part 2 with Q&A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN0fYeaihw8 

 
Gibbons on Reboot Republic https://www.goloudnow.com/podcasts/rory-hearnes-reboot-republic-tortoise-shack-media-493/the-green-dilemma-with-john-gibbons-ep287-80253 

Gibbons latest edition on the Matt Cooper show https://www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the-last-word-with-matt-cooper/use-of-solar-power-boosted-by-rise-in-temperatures 

Gibbons on Mario Rosenstock podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/debunking-climate-change-myths-with-john-gibbons/id1556993698?i=1000578954818 

 
Recorded 17th of April, 2023

Ireland has declared a climate emergency.
In this interview Barry McMullin looks at what can be learned from other emergencies in Ireland’s history. He does the maths on carbon budgets, discusses the growth of Irish dairy, green growth, the distortions of per capita emissions and Ireland’s three big bets. 

Barry McMullin was co-Principal Investigator on a EPA-commissioned 5-year assessment on the potential of Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs) in Ireland. 
He is an electronic engineer and long-time professor at DCU. 
He has given evidence to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action on numerous occasions. He’s on the board of SEAI and head of the Engineers Ireland division on Energy, Environment and Climate Action. 

If you’d like to find out more about how you can call on government to accelerate decarbonisation go to https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/  or www.antaisce.org 

Topics discussed in the episode:

Caroline O’Doherty Irish Examiner article cited in podcast

An Taisce assessment of Ireland’s 2023 Climate Action Plan

Journalist George Monbiot ‘Leave It In The Ground’

‘How climate change paved the way to war in Syria’ (DW)

Green growth

Links to Barry McMullin’s work

-       Prof Barry McMullin and Dr Louise Fitzgerald discuss the Climate Action Plan 2023 

-       Overview of the climate situation and Negative Emissions Technologies

-       McMullin gives evidence to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action

-       2016 project launched by Barry McMullin and others: A Citizen’s Convention for a Post-Carbon Ireland 

-       Links to Barry McMullin’s academic articles

-       Find the latest climate updates on Barry McMullin’s twitter   

-       Barry McMullin’s website  

This episode was recorded on 10th March 2023

Tech support: Darren Loughran