Data centre electricity consumption increased 144% since 2015

Data centres now consume almost the same amount of Ireland’s electricity as all rural dwellings in the country combined

Data centres accounted for 73 per cent of increases in Ireland’s electricity consumption in the past five years. Picture: Getty

The rate of metered electricity consumption by data centres in Ireland rose by 144 per cent between 2015 and 2020, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed.

Data centre electricity consumption rose 193 per cent between the first three months of 2015 and the last three months of 2020.

The analysis, the first time the CSO has ever released figures on data energy consumption specifically, showed that data centres accounted for 5 per cent ...