Ireland cannot deliver an AI strategy without an energy strategy, writes Rhonda Doyle

Ireland’s EU Presidency presents a crucial opportunity to strengthen Europe’s energy security and resilience in line with the EU’s wider competitiveness agenda. That depends on reducing exposure to volatile and costly fossil-fuel imports, which Ireland alone relies on for 78% of its energy requirements – the fourth highest in the EU. Accelerating home-grown renewable electricity, grid modernisation and flexible energy systems will be essential.

But infrastructure challenges persist – and nowhere is it more prevalent than in Ireland. As power demand grows, Ireland’s national grid is being pushed to its limits – exacerbated by ageing infrastructure and climate-related disruption. Electrification offers the fastest route to more secure, affordable energy – both in Ireland and across Europe, with the EU estimating this can unlock €260 billion by 2040.

Electrification is also critical to realising Ireland’s digital ambitions – which are bound by grid capacity. As demand from AI grows, energy and digital policy must move together. Put simply, neither Ireland nor the EU can have an AI strategy without an energy strategy.

So, can Ireland use its EU Presidency to drive this energy opportunity forward, placing grid modernisation, electrification and flexibility at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness agenda?

Accelerating the electrification agenda
Electrification can only succeed if the grid can support it. In Ireland, the system is already under considerable pressure. Grid constraints reportedly prevented Ireland from using 15% of the wind energy generated during the first half of 2026, while demand from AI and wider electrification continues to rise.

This presents a growing challenge to Ireland’s competitiveness, particularly given its position as a leading European technology hub. For business deciding where to invest, timely access to reliable, affordable electricity is now a fundamental consideration – especially when Ireland has the highest electricity prices in the EU. If grid capacity cannot keep pace, connection delays, cost uncertainty and concerns over future power availability will make it harder for Ireland to attract new projects, and for existing businesses to expand.

Urgent grid modernisation is needed to improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and help bring costs down for businesses and households. In Ireland, progress is being made towards a more coordinated approach to national infrastructure planning, including through the Large Energy User Action Plan (LEAP), which aims to ease pressure from energy intensive sectors and stabilise the grid.

Yet, policy must be backed by sustained investment in infrastructure and flexibility. This will be critical to integrating more renewables, managing demand intelligently and guaranteeing reliable power. Combined, this can strengthen energy security, sustainability and competitiveness in Ireland and across Europe.

Building data centres that support the grid
Nowhere is the need for action clearer than in Ireland’s data centre sector. Data centres are forecast to represent around 31% of national electricity demand by 2030, placing Ireland on the frontline of Europe’s infrastructure challenge.

Ireland’s Digital and AI Strategy, published earlier this year, is an important step forward, with its focus on accelerating adoption, supporting SMEs, building skills and modernising public services. But turning these ambitions into productivity, innovation and investment requires secure, resilient infrastructure. With AI workloads demanding immense computing power, Ireland must modernise its energy system quickly and translate the strategy’s ambitions into tangible outcomes. That means moving beyond standard data infrastructure and prioritising grid-interactive design. Next-generation digital infrastructure should not simply draw power from the grid. It should actively support the energy system through technologies such as microgrids, battery storage, peak-shaving and demand flexibility. These technologies allow data centres to generate or store energy locally, reduce consumption when the grid is under pressure and use more power when renewable electricity is abundant. This can reduce strain on the national system while improving resilience for data centre operators themselves.

It also means raising the bar on efficiency. Advanced liquid-cooling technologies will be critical as AI workloads become more power-intensive, while software-driven energy management platforms can provide live visibility and control across energy and cooling systems. This will allow data centres to scale AI research and development without placing avoidable pressure on the grid. AI itself must also be recognised as part of the solution, rather than a drain on the energy system. It can help forecast supply and demand, optimise energy use and identify where and when power can be used most efficiently. Combined with connected energy technologies, AI can enable a more flexible and responsive electricity system.
Collaboration will turn ambition into delivery
Delivering this future will require close collaboration between policymakers, regulators and industry, alongside sustained investment in grids, manufacturing, digitalisation and services.
This collaboration must build workforce capability, enable organisations to adopt AI responsibly and crucially, ensure the physical infrastructure underpinning AI is in place.
Businesses also need policy certainty to invest and grow. Policy should accelerate the deployment of the low-carbon energy systems needed to support secure, future-ready AI infrastructure. Faster permitting and incentives for flexible energy technologies will help ensure computing hubs are sustainable from the outset. Ireland now has the opportunity to lead by example, turning Europe’s ambitions into action, both at home and across the EU. Combining the EU’s Grids Package, Electrification Action Plan and AI agenda with smarter regulation and faster permitting can unlock a new wave of productivity, competitiveness and industrial investment across the Single Market.

Ireland has a chance to chair this debate during its EU Presidency and also demonstrate what successful delivery looks like. By bringing together clean energy, modern grids, grid-interactive data centres and industrial innovation, it can attract investment, create high-value jobs and strengthen regional economic growth across Europe.
Our energy and AI ambitions are not competing priorities. With the right infrastructure, policy and collaboration, they can reinforce one another, creating a more resilient energy system and a stronger foundation for Ireland’s digital future.

Rhonda Doyle is Country President of Schneider Electric Ireland

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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine

Email: michael@irishconstruction.com      WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE