Power-Hungry Data Centres Put Pressure on Ireland’s Grid

Findings by the The Central Statistics Office for Ireland (CSO Ireland) reveal that in 2023, data centres across the country accounted for 21% of the total usage of metered electricity. This level of consumption demonstrated that electricity consumption by data centres increased by one-fifth (20%) between 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, it was revealed that the electricity used by data centres across Ireland had risen by 400% since 2015. This dramatic level of growth was attributed to the country not having enough electricity to keep up with continued demand for data centre services.

Currently, large technology corporations hold facilities in Ireland, including the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, BT and Equinix. 

Mitigating data centre impact

Ireland is a popular location for businesses to host data centre operations, partly due to its low corporation tax rates. These rates were 12.5% until 2023, when the country increased its tax rate for large businesses to 15%.

Also boasting a highly-skilled workforce and access to the EU single market, Ireland is now home to more than 80 data centres. It is one of Europe’s most active data centre markets, with companies like tech giant Amazon holding multiple data centre campuses in Dublin alone.

As a result of this activity, data centres have contributed around €7.3bn (US$7.88bn) to Ireland’s economy.

Such a surge in activity has led to data centres putting immense pressures on the national grid. CSO Ireland also published a separate release showing total metered electricity consumption, with the percentage of total metered electricity consumption by data centres rising from 5% in 2015 to 21% in 2023.

“Large energy users with very high consumption accounted for 30% of total metered consumption in 2023,” comments Dr Grzegorz Głaczyński, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division. 

“The total metered electricity consumption by large energy users in 2023 was 9,102 GWh which was a 16% increase on 2022. The larger data centres are usually classified by ESB Networks as large energy users.”

Ensuring a sustainable digital future

Now, with such intensified usage, Ireland could struggle to meet its climate targets, having pledged to use 80% renewable energy nationwide by 2030. 

The country took action in 2022 amid concerns about pressure on its national grid, placing a moratorium on new data centres being built in Dublin until 2028. This followed other countries like the Netherlands and Singapore halting data centre development in order to prioritise sustainability.

However, continued rising demands for AI data centres could continue to impact Ireland moving forward. Data centres that are supporting disruptive technologies are faced with the challenge of higher computational power, prompting greater changes in facility design, newer cooling technologies and greater innovation to reduce carbon footprint.

"The growth of the data centre market across Europe has been substantial, especially in Ireland," highlights Billy Durie, Global Sector Head of Data Centres at Aggreko. "However, with this expansion comes a greater need to ensure this growth remains sustainable, something that the adoption of greener technologies will go a long way to help with.

“Increasing the already prominent use of decentralised power systems is paramount if the industry is to make itself self-sufficient. Using renewables is a part of this, but there needs to be an emphasis on using bridging solutions, as they are the key towards tackling the here-and-now for data centres."

Tech giants like Google are now having to confront this reality, as it experienced its emissions rise by 13% because of its overwhelming energy consumption.

It’s moments like these that raise the question over whether it is possible to make carbon-hungry data centres sustainable moving forward.

Billy adds: "Ireland is a warning sign for the rest of Europe, with the nation already beginning to struggle with demand. Here, bridging solutions have the power to keep things moving while also ensuring climate targets remain on track."

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