Microsoft and Amazon reportedly halt plans to build data centers in Ireland

Power shortages and the threat of rolling blackouts in Ireland likely means no new Microsoft and Amazon data centers. The Timesreported that a moratorium on new connections by Ireland’s state-owned electric utility EirGrid means a planned €2 billion data center expansion by the tech giants will be put on hold. The country’s existing data centers have already strained the nation’s power supply, which prompted Ireland’s utilities regulator last year to issue a warning that rolling blackouts were likely if the problem wasn’t solved. One planned Amazon Web Services site and two planned Microsoft sites (including one that was supposed to provide backup power to Irish windfarms) have not been granted licenses by EirGrid to connect to Ireland’s grid.