Irish data centres now consume 23% of national electricity as residents report mysterious hum
Graham_dePenros · x · 2026-09-04
The author analyzed a recording amid resident complaints around Echelon's DUB10 data centre in Clondalkin, Dublin. In the quietest parts, persistent narrow tonal bands at roughly 195 Hz and 375–385 Hz appear — consistent with a genuine mechanical hum. This doesn't prove DUB10 is the source, and an uncalibrated phone can't establish regulatory levels, but the tonal character merits investigation. The EPA is now investigating; the facility's licence sets a 45 dB night-time limit and bars clearly audible tonal components at noise-sensitive locations.
The bigger picture: Irish data centres consumed 7.663 TWh of metered electricity in 2025 — 23% of the national total. The Central Bank estimates 90 are operational with another 40 planned or under construction. Naas faces two major proposals: Herbata's six-building, 180 MW campus (under appeal) and a Microsoft hyperscale campus (application not yet lodged).
Ireland has case-by-case public participation, but the deeper democratic problem is fragmentation: communities never get one transparent, cumulative assessment of what clusters of 24/7 data centres mean for electricity, water, carbon and noise. The hum may be technically fixable; who decides how much infrastructure communities absorb is much harder.
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