Ireland's data centres now consume more than a fifth of national electricity
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that data centre electricity use is rising far more rapidly than any other sector, with homes and other business customers increasing by only 3% in the same period.
Data centres accounted for 22% of the electricity consumed in Ireland last year — up from 21% in 2023, and significantly higher than the 5% share they held in 2015.
In that nine-year period, between the beginning of 2015 and the end of 2024, electricity consumption by data centres rose by 531%.
In contrast, the proportion of electricity consumed by urban and rural households has declined.
In 2015, urban households used 22% of all electricity. By 2024, this fell to 18%. Rural households used 10% in 2024, down from 12% in 2015.
CSO statistician Dr Grzegorz Głaczyński said: 'In 2024, total metered electricity consumption reached 31,903 GWh – gigawatt hours - a 4.3% increase compared with 2023.
'Large Energy Users, a category including major data centres and significant industrial consumers, increased their consumption by 9% between 2023 and 2024. This group represented 31% of total metered electricity consumed in 2024, up from 30% in the previous year.'
Despite frequent doubts — even from its own civil servants — the Government continues supporting data centre development.
In the Programme for Government, its data centre policy states that it 'recognises the criticality of digital infrastructure in economic growth.'
However, critics argue that data centre expansion is incompatible with Ireland's energy system, climate targets, and existing infrastructure.
Last month, the Department of the Environment's most senior civil servant warned that data centres had exhausted the energy grid's spare capacity — forcing policymakers to consider difficult trade-offs.
'We're having to even think about prioritising what is the social need of the demand [for energy] — is it housing or is it AI (artificial intelligence)?' Secretary General Oonagh Buckley said.
'We're going to have to think much more about managing demand.' Her comments were dismissed by the Government, with Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said she had oversimplified the issue.
'I think the binary simplicity that was put forward by the secretary general doesn't reflect the general issue that's at play here,' Mr Chambers said.
Previously, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the 'demonisation of data centres' must end, calling the debate 'ill-informed.'
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