What does the CRU's "bring your own power" rule require?
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities decided its large energy users connection policy on 12 December 2025 (CRU2025236). It applies only to data centres. In short:
- Bring your own power. Data centres of 10 MVA or more need dispatchable generation or storage, on site or nearby, with de-rated capacity at least equal to their grid import capacity (MIC). It must take part in the wholesale market.
- Small sites. From 1 MVA to below 10 MVA, an autoproducer unit covering 100% of the site's import capacity. Below 1 MVA the policy does not apply.
- 80% new Irish renewables. At least 80% of annual demand matched by additional renewable projects generating in Ireland.
- Data centres only. Called a Large Energy User policy, but it applies only to data centres.
The CRU's own worked example (decision paper p.65) shows a 30 MVA data centre needing about 31 MW of gas turbine and about 55 MW of new onshore wind, because wind counts for only 5.6% of its capacity when the regulator rates what is reliably available.
Our reading. The rule is written to be technology-neutral, but those ratings mean a plant that can run for days on end. At data-centre scale that is gas engines or turbines. Batteries and wind help with the 80% renewables test, not with the dispatchable test.
Which data centres plan to run on their own gas?
Of 29 EPA licences and applications for generators at data centres, 5 are for plant meant to run as main or continuous power. Most data centres still hold diesel generators for backup only.
| Licence | Operator | Site | Status | Rated MW thermal | Stated CO₂, t/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1168 | Equinix Hyperscale 1 (DB5) Limited | Blanchardstown Industrial Park, Snugborough Road, Dublin 15 (DB5/DB6) | Licensed (2022-11-03) | 168 | — |
| P1113 | Echelon Clondalkin DC Services Limited | Crag Avenue, Clondalkin Industrial Estate, Dublin 22 | Licensed (2026-06-22) | 598 | 378,588 |
| P1210 | South Dublin Routing 4 No. 2 Limited | Orion Business Campus, Northwest Business Park, Ballycoolen, Dublin 15 | Licensed (2026-07-02) | 197 | 252,213 |
| P1227 | Vantage Data Centers DUB11 Limited | Profile Park, Kilbride, Dublin 22 | Applied | 492 | — |
| P1239 | SDC-EN Meath I Limited | Bracetown & Gunnocks, north of Clonee, Co. Meath | Applied | 544 | — |
EPA LEAP licence documents and inspector reports. CO₂ as stated by the EPA inspector where given.
A data centre that is its own power station
The clearest case is the South Dublin Routing 4 No. 2 Limited licence (P1210) at the Orion Business Campus in Ballycoolin, Dublin 15, which our directory links to Pure DC. The EPA licensed it on 2 July 2026. The inspector's report says the engines "will be the main continuous power source to the data centres (>99% of the continuous power supply)".
The EPA inspector first recommended refusal on climate grounds in October 2025, then recommended a grant in a May 2026 addendum. Direct emissions are put at about 252,213 tonnes of CO₂ a year. Echelon's licence at Crag Avenue, Clondalkin, is larger: about 378,588 tonnes a year from combined-cycle gas turbines.
Our reading. The 2022 Government Statement ruled out data centres islanded on fossil fuels, and An Coimisiún Pleanála refused Vantage and Equinix proposals partly over fears that gas would become the main source. The EPA has now licensed a site that runs almost entirely on gas. Planning, energy and environmental rules are pulling in different directions.
Has it happened already?
Yes, once. Equinix ran nine gas turbines at its Blanchardstown site (DB5) as main power from February to November 2024. That year it burned 510,550 GJ of gas against 303,804 GJ of grid electricity (EPA annual environmental report).
Across all reporting sites, on-site fuel was 2.6% of energy in 2024 and 0.3% in 2025. Verified on-site CO₂ in the EU emissions trading scheme was about 9,471 tonnes in the latest year, against a peak of 36,958 in 2022.
What would it do to Ireland's carbon budget?
If the licensed gas sites ran as licensed, they would emit about 0.95 Mt of CO₂ a year. EPA inspectors count this against the commercial and public buildings ceiling, not electricity. That is 95% of that sector's average yearly budget for 2026–30 (1 Mt).
Treat this as an upper bound: it counts EdgeConneX's licensed run-on-instruction case (P1204, about 314,156 t a year) at its maximum. Without it the total is about 0.63 Mt, 63% of the ceiling.
Is there enough gas?
Gas Networks Ireland had 17 pending applications for new large gas connections in August 2025, mostly data centres and generators, totalling 5,466 MW thermal. The CRU's June 2026 consultation (CRU202657) says connecting all of them firmly would turn a 10% headroom on a 1-in-50 winter peak day into a 9% deficit by 2033 (best estimate), or a 3% headroom into an 18% deficit (risk-adjusted).
The CRU proposes making new large gas connections interruptible, with diesel as the expected fallback. As of late September 2026 it had not decided.
Our reading. Gas, not electricity, is becoming the binding limit on new data centres. The rule meant to protect the electricity grid moves the pressure to the gas network.