Ireland has already proved that a relatively small electricity system can absorb a substantial amount of variable renewable power. Wind farms across the country have changed the national generation mix, reduced the role of coal and peat, and made renewable electricity a normal part of daily grid operations. In 2024, renewable sources supplied 41.3% of Ireland’s electricity, the country’s highest recorded share.
The next stage will be more difficult. Ireland plans to raise renewable electricity to 80% by 2030 while electricity demand continues to grow. The country must therefore build renewable capacity faster, reinforce transmission networks, reduce wasted generation, connect new storage and deliver an offshore wind industry that remains largely at the planning and development stage.
Onshore Wind Created Ireland’s Renewable Base
Wind remains the foundation of renewable energy in Ireland. Atlantic weather systems provide a strong resource across western, northern and southern regions, while decades of development have created an established network of onshore wind farms. Installed wind capacity reached approximately 4.7 GW at the end of 2023 and continued to rise during 2024.
This development has given Ireland one of the more wind-dependent electricity systems in Europe. Wind generation can meet a large share of national demand during favourable weather, reducing the need for gas-fired generation and imported electricity. It also supports a domestic industry involving project development, engineering, maintenance, legal services, finance and community benefit funds.
However, the rate of new onshore construction has slowed from the pace recorded during the strongest years of expansion. Planning timelines, local opposition, grid access and uncertainty over connection dates can all delay projects. Older wind farms will also require repowering as their original turbines reach the end of their operating lives. Replacing older machines with fewer, larger turbines could increase output from established sites, although repowering still requires planning approval and adequate grid capacity.
Ireland’s 2030 plans require onshore wind capacity to rise substantially. This means the sector must do more than maintain its existing fleet. It must return to a faster rate of construction while managing land-use concerns and ensuring that communities near wind farms receive visible economic benefits.
Solar Has Become a Serious Part of the Electricity Mix
Solar power was once treated as a minor resource in Ireland because of the country’s cloudy climate and northern location. That view has changed rapidly. Solar photovoltaic systems continue to generate electricity under overcast conditions, while falling equipment costs and government support have made both rooftop and utility-scale projects commercially practical.
Ireland added approximately 570 MW of solar capacity during 2024, bringing total installed solar PV capacity to about 1.32 GW. This followed a major increase in grid-scale solar farms, particularly in the east, south and Midlands. Rooftop systems are also becoming more common on homes, farms, warehouses, public buildings and commercial properties.
Solar offers an important seasonal balance to wind. Irish wind generation is generally stronger during autumn and winter, while solar output reaches its highest levels during the longer days of spring and summer. A larger solar fleet can therefore reduce reliance on gas generation during periods of low summer wind.
The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme has helped create a pipeline of new projects. Ireland’s fifth RESS auction, held in 2025, awarded support to 22 projects with a combined offer quantity of just over 1.07 GW. Seventeen of the successful projects were solar developments, representing more than 850 MW of the total. The result shows that solar is no longer a supporting technology within Irish renewables. It is becoming one of the main sources of new generation capacity.
Offshore Wind Is the Larger Industrial Prize
Ireland’s long Atlantic coastline gives it an offshore wind resource far greater than its domestic electricity demand. The government’s immediate programme is intended to deliver around 5 GW of offshore wind, with projects expected to be under construction by 2030 and connected as soon as practical thereafter. Longer-term policy points toward at least 20 GW of offshore renewable energy by 2040 and 37 GW by 2050.
The first group of large projects is concentrated mainly off the east coast, where waters are more suitable for fixed-bottom turbines and connections can serve the major demand centre around Dublin. Five Phase One projects that participated in Ireland’s first offshore renewable electricity auction have a combined planned capacity of approximately 3.8 GW.
A second major step came through the Tonn Nua auction for a site off County Waterford. The auction selected a 900 MW project backed by ESB and Ørsted, adding a south-coast development to the offshore pipeline. Future expansion into deeper Atlantic waters may depend increasingly on floating wind technology.
Offshore wind could become more than a source of domestic electricity. Large-scale development would create demand for port upgrades, marine engineering, vessels, turbine maintenance, environmental services and specialist construction skills. In a much larger market, Ireland could also use offshore power for electricity exports, green hydrogen production and energy-intensive industries.
The scale of that opportunity does not guarantee delivery. Offshore projects require maritime planning, environmental assessment, grid routes, port capacity, financing and long-term policy certainty. Delays in any one part of that sequence can move completion dates by several years.
The Electricity Grid Now Determines the Pace
Ireland’s central renewable-energy problem is shifting from resource availability to system integration. Many of the strongest wind resources are located far from the largest centres of electricity demand. New transmission lines, substations and distribution upgrades are needed to carry power from rural generation sites to Dublin and other urban and industrial areas.
Grid congestion already causes renewable electricity to be constrained or curtailed. Across the all-island electricity system, an estimated 2,181 GWh of potential wind generation was dispatched down during 2024. Some losses occur because local transmission infrastructure cannot carry all available output. Others occur when the system cannot safely accommodate additional non-synchronous generation at a particular time.
Battery storage can reduce part of this problem by absorbing electricity when renewable output exceeds immediate demand and returning it during tighter periods. EirGrid reported that 289 MW of storage was energised during its 2024 reporting period. Longer-duration storage, flexible electricity demand and stronger connections with neighbouring markets will become more important as renewable penetration rises.
The Celtic Interconnector, now under construction between Ireland and France, will provide Ireland’s first direct electricity link with continental Europe. Interconnection can allow Ireland to import power when domestic wind and solar output is low and export electricity during periods of surplus generation. It will not remove the need for internal grid investment, but it will make the wider system more flexible.
Renewable Electricity Is Advancing Faster Than Renewable Heat
Ireland’s renewable progress is much stronger in electricity than in heating. Homes, businesses and industry still use large quantities of oil and natural gas for space heating, hot water and industrial processes. In 2023, fossil fuels supplied more than 90% of Irish heat demand, while renewable sources accounted for approximately 8%.
Biomass has historically provided much of Ireland’s renewable heat, especially in industrial and commercial settings. Heat pumps are now becoming more important as new homes are constructed to higher energy standards and existing buildings receive efficiency upgrades. Renewable electricity can make these systems progressively cleaner as the power mix improves.
District heating, geothermal resources, renewable gas and recovered industrial heat may also contribute, but development remains limited compared with wind and solar electricity. Ireland cannot complete its energy transition through power generation alone. Renewable electricity must increasingly replace fossil fuels in buildings, transport and industry.
Delivery Will Define Ireland’s Renewable Outlook
Ireland possesses the wind and solar resources needed for a much cleaner electricity system. The more difficult task is coordinating generation, transmission, storage, planning, ports and electricity demand within the same timetable.
Onshore wind will remain the country’s renewable base, while solar is likely to supply a growing share of daytime and summer electricity. Offshore wind offers the largest long-term expansion opportunity, but grid construction and project delivery will determine how quickly that resource becomes commercially useful. Ireland’s renewable targets will depend less on discovering new potential than on building the physical system required to use the resources it already has.