In Ireland, 32.5% of electricity on the grid was generated by renewable sources in May, just slightly below the amount generated by gas (39%).
EirGrid, the body responsible for operating, developing and enhancing Ireland’s electricity grid, has released provisional figures showing that 22.5% of Ireland’s electricity came from wind in May.
Solar generation in the country hit a new record, with 173,163MWh produced by grid-scale solar, accounting for 6.5% of electricity generated for the month. In May 2021, just 2.7% of Irish electricity was generated by solar.
New peaks for grid scale solar activity in a one-minute period were also recorded by EirGrid, which balances electricity supply with customer demand in real time from the National Control Centre. On 17 May, solar generation peaked at 755MW, beating the record of 752MW set on 15 May. The previous record of 750MW was set on 24 March 2025.
In February, the peak wind power record was set for Ireland and the overall share of electricity from renewables was 54.5%.
The remaining electricity mix for May saw gas generation account for 39% of the electricity produced, with 22.8% being imported via interconnection, 4.6% coming from coal, and the remaining 1.1% from other sources, including demand side units.
Diarmaid Gillespie, director of system operations at EirGrid said: “While onshore wind remains the prominent renewable source of electricity in Ireland, solar power has become a notable feature of the Irish power system over the last two years in particular, and we may see further records being reached over the coming summer months.
“We also continue to see electricity imports contributing significantly to our fuel mix in meeting electricity demand.”
The Greenlink Interconnector, running between Ireland and the UK, came online in mid-April this year after a three-year testing period. At the time, Irish minister for climate, environment and energy Darragh O’Brien said increased electricity interconnection will be a “key enabler” of growing use of renewable energy.
According to EirGrid, the Irish electricity grid can accommodate up to 75% of electricity from renewable sources at any one time. This is known as the system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP) limit.
This has been the maximum for some time, with chief transformation & technology officer at EirGrid Liam Ryan saying in October 2024 that the operator was conducting “more system studies and assessments at the moment, aiming to do a trial later this year to bring our SNSP limit above 75%”.
