Data centres account for almost a quarter of Irish electricity usage in 2025
5 hours ago
- #Energy Consumption
- #Renewable Policy
- #Data Centres
- Data centres consumed 23% of Ireland's electricity in 2025, up from 5% in 2015.
- Data centres used 7,663 GWh in 2025, a 10% increase from 2024, while other users saw only a 2% rise.
- Electricity use by data centres grew from 291 GWh in Q1 2015 to 1,991 GWh in Q4 2025.
- Data centres are projected to account for a third of Ireland's electricity consumption by 2030.
- Ireland lifted a moratorium on new data centres in December 2024, requiring at least 80% renewable energy use.
- Data centres reportedly added €90 annually to average household utility bills, per a Friends of the Earth report.
- Multinational investments in data centre equipment, driven by AI, are boosting Ireland's economic growth.
- Total electricity consumption increased by 3.4% in 2025, with large energy users, including data centres, up 9%.
- Households used 28% of electricity, with urban homes at 18% and rural at 9% of the national total.