Datacenters consumed more than a fifth of Ireland's electricity supply during 2023, according to the latest figures from the republic's Central Statistics Office (CSO). The news comes amid growing concerns over the expanding energy demands of the bit barn industry.

Ireland has become something of a bellwether for datacenter energy consumption. Despite being a relatively small nation with a population of just over 5 million people, it boasts 82 bit barns, with a further 14 under construction and planning approved for 40 more, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

The latest statistics published by CSO reveal that the total metered electricity consumption by datacenters in the Emerald Isle has risen from 5 percent back in 2015 to 21 percent last year.

By comparison, all urban households in the country accounted for 18 percent of metered electricity use during 2023, and all rural households added up to 10 percent.

The last time The Register reported on this issue was a couple of years ago, when data dormitories were eating up 14 percent of Ireland's electricity supply, which was more than all the rural homes but less than the percentage consumed by urban residents at the time.

A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this year warned that global electricity demand from datacenters could double by 2026, and in this scenario they might be using up as much as a third (32 percent) of Ireland's total electricity supply.

This outcome seems increasingly likely, especially considering RTÉ's projection of a 65 percent increase in the number of bit barns in the coming years.

The CSO report indicates that metered electricity consumption by all those bit barns increased steadily from 290 gigawatt hours in the first quarter of 2015 to 1,661 gigawatt hours in the fourth quarter of 2023. This represents an increase of 473 percent, while the total metered electricity consumption rose by just 24 percent during the same period.

Meanwhile, recent trends such as generative AI have only increased demand for datacenter capacity, with a recent forecast in the US indicating that bit barn power consumption will likely double by 2030 compared with 2023. The CEO of the UK's National Grid also warned earlier this year that datacenter power consumption in the country is likely to grow 500 percent over the next decade.

Datacenter operators have been drawn to Ireland for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the country has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union, but also because it is a hub for transatlantic cables linking to the US.

But their rapid growth over the past decade has led to concerns that their energy needs could lead to power shortages in the country. Others have noted that Ireland's climate targets require a 50 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and the expanding demand from data dormitories is not helping when the nation is still reliant on electricity generated from fossil fuels.

However, a report earlier this month from commercial real estate firm CBRE indicated that shortages of land and available power are now causing difficulties for the datacenter industry globally, but especially in Europe.

"Power and land shortages, combined with increased regulation are the most prominent inhibiting factors when it comes to datacenter development in Europe," CBRE Head of Datacenter Solutions for Europe Andrew Jay commented at the time. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/25/ireland_datacenter_power_consumption/