Data centres in Ireland now account for over a fifth of the country’s metered electricity consumption, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In 2023, data centres used 21% of the total metered electricity, a significant rise from 5% in 2015.
The rise in electricity consumption by data centres has been steady, with quarterly usage increasing from 290-gigawatt hours in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,661 gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This represents a 473% increase over the period.
In comparison, urban households accounted for 18% and rural households for 10% of the total metered electricity consumption in 2023.
Total metered electricity consumption in Ireland rose by 24% between 2015 and 2023.
Data centres, which consumed 1,238 gigawatt hours in 2015, saw their consumption increase to 6,334 gigawatt hours by 2023.
The growing energy demand of data centres has raised concerns, particularly as a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this year warned that global electricity demand from data centres could double by 2026.
In such a scenario, data centres could consume up to 32% of Ireland‘s total electricity supply.
