Ireland records new peaks for solar power on the grid in May

Solar power reached its highest recorded figure on the national electricity grid in May, while overall almost a third of electricity came from renewable sources¹ last month, according to provisional data from EirGrid

EirGrid is responsible for operating, developing and enhancing Ireland’s electricity grid and market. It balances electricity supply to customer demand in real time from the National Control Centre.

173,163 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity was produced from grid-scale solar² in May, representing 6.5% of electricity generated for the month. 

For context, in May 2023, 2.7% of all electricity came from solar power, accounting for 71,731 MWh of electricity. 

There were also a number of new peaks for grid-scale solar activity for a one-minute period, reaching 755 MW at one point on the 17th of May 2025, beating the record of 752 MW set two days earlier on 15 May. 

The previous record of 750 MW was recorded on 24 March 2025. This followed a new peak wind power record on the grid set in February.

Of the 32.5% of electricity generated from renewables in May, the majority came from wind, which accounted for 22.5%, while 6.5% came from solar, and the remainder of renewable generation came from other sources including hydro and biomass.

Looking at the rest of the fuel mix, gas generation accounted 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 sources³.

Overall electricity system demand⁴ was 2,671 GWh for May 2025, similar to 2,679 GWh in May 2024.

Currently the electricity grid can accommodate up to 75% of electricity from renewable sources at any one time: what is known as the system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP) limit.

EirGrid is rolling out an unprecedented programme of grid reinforcements, upgrades and new infrastructure across the country, enabling the connection of further generation sources to maintain a secure and reliable power supply.

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.

"Operating a power system with electricity generated from variable renewables such as wind and solar, mixed with conventional generation, is complex and technically very challenging. To maintain stability on the grid, EirGrid engineers need to be able to adjust to and meet fluctuating energy demand with supply at all times.”

About the data 

The data is based on 15-minute SCADA readings (MW). The data referenced above is Ireland-only.

Data is provisional and unmetered data, based on real-time information.

¹Average Fuel Mix is a representation of the System Generation fuel mix and net imports across the power system. The “Renewables” category includes wind, solar, hydro and biomass sources. It excludes some non-centrally monitored generation (such as small scale combined heat and power and microgeneration).

²Not including rooftop (embedded) solar.

³The “Other” category includes Peat, Distillate, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), Aggregated Generating Units (AGUs) and Demand Side Units (DSUs). Waste is split 50% between the “Other” and “Renewable” categories.

⁴System demand represents the electricity production required to meet national electricity consumption, including system losses, but net of generators' requirements.

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