The body which manages the electricity grid says demand is expected to grow by 45% from its 2023 level to 2034 and the peak requirement for power will rise by 24% over the same period.
EirGrid says there will be a “challenging outlook” between this year and 2027 until new sources of power come on stream.
It adds much of the growth in demand will come from data centres, electrification of heat and transport from increased use of heat pumps and electric vehicles.
New technologies which use significant amounts of power in the information technology sector will also add to the requirement for more energy.
In its All-Island Resource Adequacy Assessment report, EirGrid says in order to manage the increased demand it has access to temporary emergency generation capacity.
It says this can be “called upon in the event of a shortfall in capacity and where alerts on the system are likely.”
This means that power stations in Dublin at North Wall and Huntstown, Tarbert in Co Kerry and Shannonbridge in Co Offaly can be brought online with 15 minutes notice.
EirGrid can also use power from Moneypoint in Co Clare until March 2029.
It is expected that access to power will be boosted when the Celtic Interconnector between Ireland and France becomes operational along with new gas capacity in 2027 and 2028.
EirGrid says data centres and new technologies will use 27% of electricity this year but will rise to 31% of demand by 2034.
The proportion of overall electricity demand from heat pumps is estimated to increase from 3% in 2025 to 10% by 2034, while the proportion of overall demand from electric cars will rise from 1% to 8% during the same period.
The report says the electricity industry will have to find new ways to meeting the increasing need for energy without relying mainly on burning fossil fuels.
It also notes the Programme for Government puts emphasis on accelerating housing supply which will increase electricity requirements.
Ireland recorded a new peak demand in electricity of 6,024 megawatts on January 8, 2025. This was the first time the peak electricity demand passed the 6,000 megawatt mark.
Demand first passed 5,000 megawatts during the extreme cold snap of December 2010.
By 2034 EirGrid’s analysis shows demand will be above 7,000 megawatts.
Article Source – Electricity demand set to grow 45% between now and 2034 – RTE
