Milan, Italy is one of several cities favoured by data centre developers. Other countries could follow the Republic’s lead by requiring new data centres to build their own power plants as a condition of connecting to the electricity network, one expert suggests. He noted that moratoriums or congested queues for electricity connections had slowed data centre development in many countries. [ New data centres may need additional electricity supply close to Ireland’s peak demandOpens in new window ]Data centres facilitate digital services including social media, streaming, email, online shopping and artificial intelligence. This country became the primary location for these utilities on the back of its position as a leading European centre for software and technology services.

Source: The Irish Times December 16, 2025 19:27 UTC