Sunshine in July produces another record month for solar energy in Ireland

Provisional data from EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid, shows that 32% of electricity came from renewable sources in July.This compares to 33% for the same month last year.  

July was a record month for the amount of solar energy powering the electricity system with grid scale solar contributing 9.4% to the overall fuel mix for the month. This compares to 8.2% in June and 7.8% in May. 

At 22%, wind energy was a significant proportion of the total amount of energy generated across the month. Total generation of wind amounted to 614 GWh (Gigawatt hours).   

Elsewhere, gas generation accounted for 43% of all electricity used and 24% was imported via interconnection.   

The overall electricity system demand stood at 2,744 GWh in July, compared to 2,676 GWh in June. 

EirGrid balances supply and demand every minute of the day from the National Control Centre, while also planning for Ireland’s long-term electricity needs. 

EirGrid is also making significant progress in integrating renewable electricity, with the power system now able to safely operate with up to 75% of electricity coming from variable renewable sources such as wind and solar at any one time. Work is underway to increase this to 95%.

Diarmaid Gillespie, EirGrid’s Director of System Operations, said:  

“July was another record-breaking month for the amount of solar energy powering our electricity system and again demonstrates just how increasingly important solar power has become as a source of renewable energy in Ireland. 

“This follows a significant first half of the year for renewable energy with us seeing a number of other notable milestones including a new record for wind generation in February and reaching a peak of over 1 GW (gigawatt) of electricity provided by grid-scale solar power for the first time in April.”