Call for moratorium on new data centres until benefits are fully examined 

Over the past four years, demand for energy from data centres has increased annually by 600GWh. This is the equivalent of adding 140,000 households to the power system each year. File picture

With predictions data centres could be using up to 70% of Ireland’s energy capacity within a decade, an Oireachtas committee has heard a call for a moratorium on further centres until their benefits and consumption are researched.

At the the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, Dr Patrick Bresnihan of Maynooth University highlighted the potential draw-down of energy for data centres by 2030.