Data centres now account for 21% of all electricity consumption in Ireland.
CSO findings come amid an increasingly heated debate about data centres and their energy demands.

 

Electricity consumption by data centres has risen from just 5 per cent of the total generated in 2015 to 21 per cent last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

 

CSO figures show the energy consumed by the centres eclipsed the amount used by urban households in 2023, which accounted for 18 per cent of total metered electricity consumption. Rural households accounted for 10 per cent.

 

Quarterly metered electricity consumption by data centres increased steadily from 290 gigawatt hours in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,661 gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2023, a jump of 473 per cent, the agency said.

 

The findings come amid an increasingly heated debate about data centres, their energy demands and whether playing host to so many of them runs counter to the State’s climate policy.

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/07/23/electricity-consumption-by-data-centres-rises-to-21-eclipsing-urban-households/

 

Probably a lot of that is Bitcoin mining.

Tech firms (Microsoft, Google, Amazon), U.S. federal agencies and countries are looking to nuclear power (SMR-Small Modular Reactors) to solve the power crunch envisioned by demands for AI.

 

Nuclear Energy Stocks Enter 2025 On A High. AI Data Centers Need Them, A Lot.

 

https://www.investors.com/news/nuclear-energy-stocks-2025-ai-data-centers/