Data centers' power consumption exceeds that of rural homes

A study by the Irish Central Statistics Office has revealed that data centres' electricity consumption increased by 32% from 2020 to 2021, making them use more electricity than rural homes.

Data Centres Metered Electricity Consumption 2021 - CSO - Central Statistics Office

Data centres now consuming more electricity than rural homes - CSO
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/data-centres-now-consuming-more-electricity-than-rural-homes-cso-1.4868221

According to statistics, data center power consumption has been increasing steadily, with the increase rate being 265% between January-March 2015 and October-December 2021.

In terms of percentage, it has risen from 5% in 2015 to 14% in 2021, which is lower than the 21% for urban homes but higher than the 12% for rural homes.

If data centres continue to grow at this rate, they are expected to consume 70% of Ireland's total electricity by the 2030s.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, which regulates energy, sees data center growth as a 'significant and evolving risk' to the security of the electricity supply, but believes that power constraints should not lead to restrictions on data center construction.

However, Dr Patrick Bresnihan of Maynooth University said that if data centres continue to increase their power consumption without any warning, it will be harder to implement policies that encourage people to save energy when the time comes. He said this should lead to a debate about whether the government should stop the opening of more data centres in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.