Data centers consume 21 percent of Ireland’s electricity supply

Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the archipelago latest data data centers will consume more than a fifth of Ireland’s electricity supply in 2023. The news comes amid growing concerns over the growing energy demands of server farms.

Ireland has become something of a veterinary horse for data center energy consumption. Despite being a relatively small country with a population of just over 5 million, it boasts 82 server centers, 14 more are under construction, and plans for another 40 have been approved. The latest statistics published by the CSO show that the total measured power consumption of data centers rose from 5 percent in 2015 to 21 percent last year. In comparison, all urban households in the country accounted for 18 percent of the measured electricity use in 2023, and all rural households accounted for 10 percent.

A report this year by the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global electricity demand from data centers could double by 2026, using up to a third (32 per cent) of Ireland’s total electricity supply in this scenario. This outcome seems increasingly likely, especially considering the forecast that the number of server farms will increase by 65 percent in the coming years. According to the CSO report, electricity consumption measured by all such structures will continue to increase, from 290 gigawatt hours in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,661 gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2023. This represents an increase of 473 percent, while the total measured electricity consumption increased by only 24 percent during the same period.

Meanwhile, recent trends such as generative artificial intelligence have only increased the demand for data center capacity, and according to a recent US forecast, the power consumption of such centers is likely to double by 2030 compared to 2023. The CEO of the British National Grid also warned at the beginning of the year that the energy consumption of data centers in the country is expected to increase by 500 percent in the next decade. Data center operators are attracted to Ireland for several reasons, not least because it has one of the lowest corporate taxes in the European Union, but also because the country is a hub for the transatlantic cables connecting Europe with the United States.

However, their rapid growth over the past decade has raised concerns that their energy demand could lead to power shortages in the country. Others have noted that Ireland’s climate targets call for a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and the growing demand for data centers won’t help when the country still relies on electricity from fossil fuels. However, a report by commercial real estate firm CBRE earlier this month indicated that a lack of land and available energy globally, but particularly in Europe, is causing difficulties for the data center industry. “Power and land shortages, as well as increased regulation, are the most significant barriers to data center development in Europe,” said Andrew Jay, Head of European Data Center Solutions at CBRE.