Highlights
- Ireland’s data centres consumed nearly 25 per cent of national electricity in 2024 and are projected to reach at least 30 per cent by 2032, prompting calls to revisit the nuclear power ban.
- Taoiseach Micheál Martin and key ministers now support a nuclear debate as Fianna Fáil pushes legislation to end the ban, with recent polling showing 43 per cent public support for nuclear.
- Ireland’s data centre demand may rise to 55 per cent of electricity use by 2040, with critics warning nuclear adoption is too slow to ease capacity shortfalls or reduce prices this decade.
Ireland is reopening its long-standing debate over nuclear power as electricity demand from data centres rises faster than the rest of the economy. The shift comes despite a legal ban in place since 1999, with policymakers weighing whether atomic energy could help address supply pressure, high power costs and future demand growth.
Policy shift driven by data centre electricity demand
As reported by Financial Times, data centres now account for nearly a quarter of Ireland’s electricity use, and that share is set to rise to at least 30 per cent by 2032. Their consumption grows 10 per cent last year from 2024, far ahead of the 2 per cent growth recorded by all other users, sharpening pressure on the government to expand available generation.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently says Ireland is open to nuclear power, reviving an option that has been politically off limits for decades. Fianna Fáil lawmaker James O’Connor introduces a bill to remove the veto on nuclear power, arguing that Ireland’s ban leaves the country exposed as demand accelerates.
Ireland has historically rejected nuclear generation after protests in the late 1970s helped halt plans for a plant on the south-east coast, and legal bans since 1999 keep that position in place. But the country also imposes a de facto moratorium on new data centres in 2021 because the power system cannot keep pace with their demand, highlighting the tension between economic policy and energy capacity.
A favourable tax regime helps Ireland attract major technology groups, which establish European headquarters or large operations in the country and make an outsized contribution to public finances. That model increases the importance of securing enough electricity for multinational activity, especially as U.S. technology companies and AI-related operators expand infrastructure needs globally.
Energy security and cost concerns shape industry response
Ireland relies on imports for four-fifths of its energy needs, while gas accounts for 40 per cent of electricity generation last year, wind 32 per cent and net imports through interconnectors with the UK 16 per cent, according to official data. The country has doubled wind generating capacity over the past decade, but offshore development remains slow, with a decision on the first offshore wind project since Arklow due in September.
Supporters of nuclear power argue Ireland should not ignore a potential long-term source of lower-carbon baseload electricity. Opinion polling in April shows 43 per cent of respondents favour scrapping the nuclear ban, compared with 28 per cent who want to keep it, while ministers including those responsible for finance, public expenditure and energy all signal support for a fresh debate even as they maintain renewables are the priority.
Critics say nuclear power cannot solve Ireland’s immediate problems. Hannah Daly, professor of sustainable energy at University College Cork, says nuclear cannot address high prices, security of supply or carbon obligations in the next 15 to 20 years and warns it could further delay renewable deployment.
Renewables executives also point to planning bottlenecks and grid constraints as more urgent barriers. Kieran White, chief executive of Perigus Energy, says Ireland risks spending too much time on theoretical future options instead of deliverable solar and wind projects that could lower costs this decade and the next.
The debate is also shaped by international developments. In the U.S., data centre operators increasingly explore nuclear options including plant restarts and small modular reactors, while Ireland is already indirectly exposed to nuclear generation through electricity imports from Britain and is set to deepen that link when an interconnector with France is completed in 2028.
Proponents including the Irish Academy of Engineering say small modular reactors could eventually supply a large share of Ireland’s electricity by 2050, but opponents cite cost overruns and delays at European projects. Even so, rising data centre demand keeps nuclear on the policy agenda, with some forecasts suggesting such facilities could consume 55 per cent of Ireland’s electricity by 2040.
Our earlier coverage of Ireland’s renewed nuclear power debate explained how rapidly rising electricity demand from data centres is pushing policymakers to reconsider the long-standing ban in place since 1999. We noted that while public support for revisiting nuclear is growing and proponents see small modular reactors as a potential long-term option, critics argue the technology would not ease prices or supply constraints in the near term and could distract from scaling renewables and fixing grid bottlenecks.
Source: Traders Union