Warning that data centres could account for 30% of all electricity consumption by 2030 

Ireland’s ability to generate the massive energy needed to power data centres is a growing concern, as CSO analysis shows their consumption of electricity increased by 144% between 2015 and 2020.  Picture: File

Data centre consumption of electricity increased by 144% between 2015 and 2020, leading to their total electricity consumption jumping from 5% to 11% in the same period.

That is according to an analysis from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which looked at data centre electricity consumption for the first time.