Both Amazon and Microsoft’s plans to open new data centers in Ireland have been blocked. Worry about power shortages and power supply seems to be the main reason.
Amazon was going to invest up to €2 billion to expand its data center in Ireland. The country is now an important location for data facilities because of its proximity to Europe and North America.
It’s been reported that a freeze has been put on new connections to the power grid in Ireland. EirGrid, the country’s state-owned power operator, put all projects on hold. One project from Amazon and two projects from Microsoft are affected.
Ireland and many countries in Europe are worried about power supply because of the effects of the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Data centers require a huge amount of power. Last year, Ireland’s power operator already started warning about possible blackouts.
In November last year, EirGrid issued the freeze and no new data centers have been authorized since then. EirGrid says other companies have also decided to change their data center plans because of its decision.
Microsoft is now looking at locations in the UK, Spain and Germany for its new data centers. It’s not clear where Amazon is looking.
It’s becoming more difficult to build new data centers in many parts of the world because of the huge amount of power they require.
Extreme weather is a new problem that data centers have. This summer, Google and Oracle data centers in the UK had to be shut down because of a 40C heatwave.
VOCABULARY
- Data center – a large building that has many computers for storage
- Power shortage – a period when there is not enough energy/electricity for homes and buildings
- Invest – put money into; spend money on a project or business
- proximity – being near; to be close to; accessibility
- Freeze – to hold or stop something for a period of time; suspend; restrict; limit
- Power grid (electrical grid) – a network of cables and equipment for electricity delivery to homes/businesses
- State owned – a company or property that is owned and controlled by the government
- Put on hold – postpone; put off; handle later; suspend; pause
- Blackout – when electricity delivery fails; power supply for homes/businesses fails
- Issue – announce; to tell everyone; to formally send out or share
- Authorize – to give permission; approve; someone says you can do it
- Heatwave – a period of very hot weather
Original story from TechRadar below:
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