New data centres may need additional electricity supply close to Ireland’s peak demand

EirGrid's forecast of a significant increase in electricity demand from new data centres, with an expected demand of 5.8GW, highlights the substantial energy requirements of these facilities. This surge in demand, which would exceed Ireland's 2030 offshore wind target of 5GW, has significant implications for website owners who rely on data centres to host their online presence. For website owners, this means that the increased energy demand from data centres may lead to higher energy costs, potentially resulting in increased hosting fees. Moreover, the strain on Ireland's energy supply could lead to concerns about the reliability and sustainability of data centre operations, which in turn may impact website uptime and performance. Website owners who host their sites in Irish data centres should be prepared for potential changes in their hosting arrangements and costs. To mitigate these risks, website owners should consider tracking their AI bot traffic to optimize energy usage, reviewing their llms.txt files to ensure they are not inadvertently blocking essential crawlers, and exploring sustainable hosting options that prioritize renewable energy sources to minimize their carbon footprint.