Data Centres, Solar and the Grid: Ireland's Energy Challenge Is About Delivery
Ireland’s growing electricity demand is one of the most important questions facing our energy system. It is also one that can easily become oversimplified.
In the July/August global edition of pv magazine, Solar Ireland CEO Ronan Power contributes to a major feature examining Ireland’s approach to data centres, renewable energy and grid development.
The feature, Leap of faith, looks at the Government’s Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP), the continued growth of data centres and the challenge of meeting increasing electricity demand while delivering Ireland’s renewable energy and climate ambitions.
For Solar Ireland, it comes back to a fundamental question: how do we build an electricity system capable of supporting a growing, increasingly electrified economy while reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels?
Demand is growing. Clean electricity must grow with it.
Data centres accounted for 23% of metered electricity consumption in Ireland in 2025, according to CSO figures referenced in the pv magazine feature. That is significant. But data centres are only one part of a much wider change taking place across the economy.
As Ireland electrifies transport, heating and industry, electricity demand will continue to grow. New businesses and industries will require power too. The challenge, therefore, cannot simply be viewed through the lens of restricting demand. We also need to dramatically increase our ability to generate, store and move clean electricity around the country.
As Ronan puts it in the feature:
“The question is not simply who is using electricity, but whether Ireland is building the infrastructure needed to meet growing demand sustainably.”
Solar is ready to deliver
Ireland’s solar sector has demonstrated just how quickly renewable generation can scale. Connected solar capacity reached approximately 2.7 GW by the end of May 2026, with Solar Ireland’s Scale of Solar 2026 projecting that this could reach approximately 3.3 GW by the end of the year.
But increasing generation capacity is only one part of the equation. The electricity network must be capable of connecting that generation and moving it to where it is needed. Storage and flexibility must develop alongside it, helping Ireland make better use of renewable electricity when it is available.
That is why one of Ronan’s central messages in pv magazine is particularly important:
“The renewable industry is ready to invest.”
The challenge is creating the grid capacity, planning environment and market frameworks that allow that investment to translate into projects.
Bringing new demand and new generation together
There is also an opportunity to think differently about how large electricity users fit into Ireland’s energy transition. Rather than treating new demand and renewable generation as two separate challenges, they should increasingly be planned together.
That principle is reflected in LEAP. As outlined by pv magazine, the framework introduces renewable generation and storage requirements for new data centres of 10 MW or greater.
For Solar Ireland, the direction of travel is important. New large energy users can create additional demand for clean electricity. With the right frameworks, that demand can help support investment in new renewable generation, storage and infrastructure.
Corporate power purchase agreements are one mechanism through which major electricity users can provide long-term demand for renewable electricity, helping projects secure investment and progress towards construction. The objective should be a system in which economic growth and renewable energy development reinforce each other.
The grid is the critical link
None of this can happen at the necessary scale without the grid. Ireland can build more solar. We can develop more storage. Businesses can commit to purchasing renewable electricity. Consumers can increasingly electrify their homes and transport. But ultimately, the infrastructure connecting generation and demand has to keep pace.
That is why accelerating grid delivery is becoming one of the defining priorities for Ireland’s energy transition. And the consequences extend far beyond the data-centre debate. A stronger, more flexible electricity system will help enable renewable projects, electrified industry, EVs, heat pumps, businesses and communities across Ireland.
From a national challenge to a European opportunity
This conversation is also taking place at an important moment for Ireland internationally. As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, grid development, electrification and energy security are firmly on the European agenda.
Ireland has an opportunity not only to address its own infrastructure challenges, but to help advance the European conversation about the grids and clean-energy investment required for a more electrified economy. Solar has already demonstrated that renewable generation can scale quickly. The next phase is about ensuring the rest of the energy system can scale with it.
The renewable industry is ready to invest. Ireland now needs the infrastructure and frameworks that allow that investment to deliver.
Solar Ireland CEO Ronan Power features in “Leap of faith” in the July/August 2026 global edition of pv magazine, examining Ireland’s approach to data centres, renewable energy and electricity infrastructure.