ESB Networks has added more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar power to the electricity network over the last two years, according to figures to be released on Monday. That is enough to run some 400,000 homes when it is sunny and just over 18 per cent of Irelandâs 5.5GW peak demand for electricity.
The figure includes 300 megawatts (MW) of microgeneration, mainly by homeowners with rooftop solar panels and 200MW of solar power with which is not exported to the grid but used on site. It also includes around 500MW of utility-scale solar connections, 369MW of which comes from larger projects connected to the transmission system, managed by EirGrid.
Minister for energy Eamon Ryan described the rise in solar power â particularly in the number of households generating their own electricity through solar panels â as a ârooftop revolutionâ.
âThe rooftop revolution has seen solar panels becoming an increasing feature across every town and suburb of the country, providing clean indigenous electricity,â he said, noting that more than 82,000 homes have now installed solar panels.
He said the rapid deployment of small-scale generation had been mirrored âin the rapid growth in the connection of utility-scale solar farmsâ.
âSince I launched the first solar farm in Co Wicklow in May 2022, there has been a big acceleration in the deployment of solar farms, providing new income streams to farmers, supporting jobs and benefiting communities across the country. Todayâs announcement marks an important milestone in Irelandâs journey to 8GW of solar connections by 2030 and shows that, even in âcloudy Irelandâ, we can harness our home-grown green resources to power homes and businesses.â
Nicholas Tarrant, managing director of ESB Networks, said enabling the connection of 1,000MW of clean solar power to Irelandâs electricity network was âa significant collective achievement for ESB Networks, our solar industry partners and indeed the 82,000-strong cohort of microgeneration customers across Irelandâ.
âIt is reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels and ultimately delivering the electricity network for Irelandâs clean electric future,â he said.
Meeting our climate action targets requires a significant contribution from solar electricity, the Irish Solar Energy Associationâs Conall Bolger said. âConnecting 1 gigawatt less than two years after Irelandâs first solar farm was energised demonstrates the genuine potential of solar. There is a strong pipeline of new solar farms currently under development, and we must continue to support this momentum to enable Ireland to achieve its goal of 8GW of solar by 2030.â