Data centres used more than 20% of Ireland's electricity last year

Tomas Doherty

Electricity consumption by data centres increased by 20 per cent in just one year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

Data centres used up a greater share of electricity consumption than urban homes in the Republic last year, the figures show.

The overall share of metered electricity consumed by data centres has more than quadrupled in just eight years, from 5 per cent in 2015 to 21 per cent last year.

By comparison, urban households used 18 per cent of metered electricity in 2023 and rural households used 10 per cent.

The surge in electricity use by data centres has come under scrutiny due to concerns about the State’s energy supply and the targeted reduction in carbon emissions to tackle climate change.

Eirgrid, the State's electricity grid operator, has said that electricity usage by data centres could rise to between 23 per cent and 30 per cent of overall consumption by the end of this decade.