Renewable energy recorded the highest share of electricity in the month of February, with a share of 48.1%.
According to the latest data from state transmission system operator (TSO) EirGrid, renewable energy generation also increased by nine percentage points compared to the previous month, when January recorded 39% of electricity from renewable sources.
Wind generation accounted for the majority of the share with 41.1% or 1,245 GWh of wind generation, while solar generation increased from 0.8% in January to 1.2% in February, as shown in the chart below.
The remainder of February’s electricity generation came from gas, at 37.7%, and from imports via interconnection, at 14.2%.
In addition to renewables providing a new highest share of electricity contributions for February, Ireland recorded two other records for the month. Wind generation reached a new peak of 3,898 MW, achieved on February 14, surpassing the previous record set a year ago, almost day by day, when on February 13, 2025, wind generation reached 3,884 MW.
The other record set in February was for Saturday’s peak electricity demand, which reached 5,408 MW on February 14. The previous record was set the month before, when demand reached 5,297 MW on January 3.
Despite a new peak demand on a Saturday last month, total demand on the electricity system fell month on month from 3,409 GWh to 3,027 GWh.
Charlie McGee, EirGrid System Operational Manager, said: “February saw the largest contribution from renewable energy to the electricity grid since the same month last year.
“This is important as we continue our work to make the energy system more sustainable for the future and increase the amount of renewable energy powering Ireland’s electricity grid.
“The expected trend of increasing demand on the system in the winter months continued through February. Notably, for the second month in a row, we saw another record peak Saturday demand.”
As new peak demand records continue to emerge, this could leave Ireland’s electricity grid facing a power shortage in the coming years. This is evident from a recent report from EirGrid warned of a “potentially challenging situation” for the country’s electricity system between 2026 and 2028, with demand exceeding available generation capacity.
