Ireland embraced data centers that the AI boom needs. Now they're consuming too much of its energy
Ireland embraced data centers that the AI boom needs. Now they're consuming too much of its energy
If anyone thought we were heading to a future of lower power consumption they were deluding themselves. We can lower emissions by eliminating fossil fuels, but per capita net power consumption will, on average, continue going up, because it will still always correlate with getting useful physical work done.
Western countries need to figure out that the future will lbe dominated by who can produce the most clean energy, the cheapest.
That's just not true, western countries have been on a downward trend of per capita energy usage for two decades now. Electricity usage may go up because we're changing how we use energy, but we're on a downward trajectory overall.
In the short term it has and will, while we have low hanging fruit we can tackle, stuff like insulating houses, not burning fossil fuels, and taxing carbon output so that commercial / industrial processes take it into account has all lead to reductions, but those won't last forever. I mean, now that Solar / Wind are cheaper than fossil fuels, a carbon tax alone no longer incentivizes reductions in energy use since energy and carbon output have been decoupled.
Once we finished doing those basic things that we should have been doing for decades, per capita energy use will trend back up, and overall energy use has still been trending upwards this whole time anyways due to population growth.
Didn't Ireland recently bump their corporate tax up from like 7/8 to 15% to align with basically the test of the world as well?
Itâs still 12.5%. I donât think it was ever as low as 7 or 8. I donât think itâs gone up to 15% yet either, but it was being talked about for sure.
Ireland are moving closer and closer to renewables with huge sites coming online anually and more getting permission to start. These sites were going to be put somewhere, ireland has a strong tech centre, an eucated work force, an amazingly stable grid and plenty of space to house these.
Why would Ireland push these out, only for them to be built somewhere else with the same downsides and no upsides. Sure on paper Ireland's usage goes up but as a planet, where it is housed makes no difference only how the power is produced.
Their self deprecating race to the bottom knows few limits.
OK I'll take your word for it
I still haven't forgiven them for knowingly stealing most of the west's' tax base for years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement
They're a huge part in the downfall of our societies and did it for a quick buck.
Well, quick buck or not, check their economy before and after and report back to explain what else exactly they could leverage to their advantage
You do not have a right or obligation to leverage your advantage at the expense of everyone else, no matter how many Ayn Rand loving psychopaths will try and argue otherwise.
Is this supposed to justify the behavior?
Should Ireland be sanctioned or put on that list?
Economy of what? A country that has no jobs outaide of Dublin, and rents beyond what a median income can afford in Dublin? Ireland has a fake economy that is built entirely on lies with no money going to actual working people. It's like if Rhode Island eas an independent country.
Oh no, how dare we incentivise business. So dramatic too.
They aren't actually bringing in businesses. Companies just say they are headquartered in Dublin with a token officw while doing all their actual work overseas. Do you also believe that every US company is based out of Delaware?