Image: © Igor Kapustin/Stock.adobe.com
The IEA said Ireland currently has 82 data centres and this is expected to grow 65pc in the coming years.
Data centres are expected to consume nearly a third of Ireland’s total electricity by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In its latest report published today (24 January), the Paris-based organisation said that at the pace at which data centres are growing in Ireland, the sector may double its electricity consumption in two years.
“With AI applications penetrating the market at a fast rate, we forecast the sector to reach a share of 32pc of the country’s total electricity demand in 2026,” the IEA reports.
Figures released by the Central Statistics office last year showed that data centres consumed 18pc of Ireland’s metered electricity in 2022, up from 14pc in 2021. The figure was only 5pc in 2015.
According to the body, Ireland’s stock of data centres is currently 82. This is expected to grow by 65pc in the coming years, with 14 data centres under construction and 40 approved to start the building phase.
“The rapid expansion of the data centre sector and the elevated electricity demand can pose challenges for the electricity system,” the IEA went on.
Data centres are now the main drivers of electricity demand growth in many regions
And electricity consumption from the sector — along with AI & cryptocurrency — could double by 2026
Energy efficiency improvements will be key to address rising demand: https://t.co/JfBLS2p2Pg pic.twitter.com/JOuORlMJnX
— International Energy Agency (@IEA) January 24, 2024
In 2021, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities issued new directions on connection applications from data centres for electricity grid operators EirGrid and ESB Networks. The directions sought to ensure that new connection applications from a growing number of data centres do not put pressure on Ireland’s grid in a way that sees demand outstrip supply and cause blackouts.
This came soon after EirGrid predicted “electricity supply challenges” this decade in part due to the growth of large energy users such as data centres. It forecast an increase of up to 43pc in demand for electricity by 2030 and said that data centres could account for one-quarter of all power consumption by the end of the decade.
Some of the Big Tech companies building data centres in Ireland include TikTok, with its Project Clover sites now operational, and Amazon, which secured planning permission to build three new data centres in Dublin last September.
Late last year, Verne Global CEO Dominic Ward spoke to SiliconRepublic.com about the increased demand for data centres and their energy impact.
“The more complex the technology, the greater the energy needed in the data centre,” Ward said. “That’s why it’s more important than ever to prioritise data centres that have both the capacity to deal with the high intensity compute demanded by AI technology, whilst also having access to reliable and sustainable energy sources.”
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