From August 2025 through July 2026, low-carbon sources supplied about 45% of Ireland’s electricity consumption, while fossil fuels supplied about 40% and net imports accounted for the remaining 15%. Wind was the largest clean source, providing just over a third of electricity, followed by solar at about 4%, hydropower at 3%, and biofuels at roughly 3%. Gas alone supplied about 39%, accounting for almost all fossil electricity. Ireland therefore has a substantial clean electricity base, but still relies heavily on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change and air pollution. The supplied data do not identify the generation mix behind net imports.

Is Electricity Growing in Ireland?

Ireland’s low-carbon electricity is growing, although overall electricity consumption per person remains below its historical peak. The latest 2026 figure is about 6,700 kWh per person, around 160 kWh—or 2%—below the record of roughly 6,850 kWh in 2006. By contrast, low-carbon generation reached a new high of about 3,025 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record set in 2025 by around 225 kWh, or 8%. This clean electricity growth is encouraging, but the shortfall against the overall consumption record warrants attention as electrification and AI increase electricity needs. These per-person figures alone do not establish whether total national electricity consumption is growing.

Suggestions

Ireland should expand its established wind sector while accelerating solar deployment and considering nuclear generation to build a larger, more diverse low-carbon electricity supply. Denmark, where wind generates 57% of electricity, offers a particularly relevant northern European example; the US state of Iowa also reaches 57%. For solar, the Netherlands generates 19% of its electricity from sunlight and Denmark 15%, showing that northern European regions can achieve much larger solar shares than Ireland’s current 4%. Nuclear merits serious consideration alongside wind and solar: France generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, Finland nearly 40%, and the nearby United Kingdom about 10%. Learning from these regions’ deployment experience could help Ireland increase clean electricity production and reduce dependence on gas.

History

Ireland’s low-carbon electricity history has been driven largely by wind expansion. In the second half of the 2000s, wind generation increased by 0.5 TWh in each of four listed years, while hydropower fell by 0.5 TWh in 2010. The 2010s brought stronger wind growth, including increases of 1.6 TWh in 2011 and 1.4 TWh in 2015, followed by gains of 1.3, 1.2, and 0.8 TWh from 2017 through 2019; a 0.4 TWh decline in 2016 interrupted that progress. Wind then rose by 2.1 TWh in 2020, suffered a disappointing 1.8 TWh setback in 2021, and recovered by 1.4 TWh in 2022. Biofuel generation fell by 0.5 TWh in 2023 and increased by 0.4 TWh in 2024. More recent wind gains of 0.4 TWh in 2025 and 0.8 TWh in 2026 are encouraging signs of renewed clean electricity growth.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.