Preliminary data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for 2025 shows that monthly utility-scale solar energy generation increased from an average of 0.73 TWh in 2024 to 0.99 TWh in the first nine months of 2025.
Ireland’s €18.9 billion ($22.2 billion) investment package for 2026-2030 has been published by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) and the government. The plan – called Price Review 6 (PR6) – will continue to work with industry and developers to increase the supply of onshore wind and solar energy by 2030.
According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) preliminary data for 2025, monthly utility-scale solar energy generation has increased from an average of 0.73 TWh in 2024 to 0.99 TWh in the first nine months of 2025.
Total solar PV production in Ireland reached 1.09 TWh in 2024. These figures are contained in SEAI’s Energy in Ireland 2025 report, which was released on December 17.
Of the total solar energy generation in 2024, 66.8% (0.73 TWh) came from utilities, while just over a third (0.36 TWh) came from rooftops.
This data shows that Ireland’s renewable energy transition efforts are gaining ground. In November, the island country surpassed 2 GW of installed solar capacity, while in December it reached 1 GW of installed rooftop capacity.
However, a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), entitled Powering Ireland’s Energy Future, highlighted the need to invest in network infrastructure and system management. It also looked at how Ireland’s electricity supply could grow over the next decade due to increasing demand from the electrification of heat and transport, as well as the country’s growing pipeline of data centres.
In addition to network investments, the IEA has recommended that Ireland expand its generation capacity, storage and demand-side flexibility to ensure sufficient resources to meet adequacy and flexibility needs. Streamlining project permitting processes will be crucial, with the IEA recommending the use of more digital tools to speed up permitting processes. The crucial importance of energy security and reliability was also emphasized.
“Ireland should strategically assess and choose the composition of its electricity supply, with potential demand pathways in mind,” the report said, adding that Ireland would reach peak residual demand, or a measure of total demand minus wind and solar production, of 10 GW by 2035.
To safely meet this demand, Ireland must develop a portfolio that reaches 16 GW of dispatchable capacity (including thermal generation, storage and interconnectors), the report said.
“This would require ambitious development of new battery capacity and increased electricity imports, in addition to thermal power plants that would function primarily as backup power supplies. Depending on how demand and supply mix evolve under different policy paths, reviewing capacity requirements will often be critical for sensible planning, along with continued efforts to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels,” the report said.
Ireland’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Darragh O’Brien, welcomed the IEA’s technical assessment, stating that “Ireland is entering the most important period of energy infrastructure development since rural electrification,” adding that the upcoming PR6 investment would deliver the necessary “bold ambition.”
PR6 includes a €3.5 billion government investment in Ireland’s electricity infrastructure, as set out in the revised National Development Plan of July 2025.
As part of this investment, €1.5 billion will be transferred to Irish distribution system operator (DSO) ESB Networks before the end of 2025, to support the delivery of onshore electricity infrastructure over the next five years.
PR6 will finance more than 500 investment projects, including 29 priority transmission projects and 27 priority distribution substations.
The spending will also go toward adding new and improving existing underground cables, replacing poles, overhead lines and a special program to ensure energy infrastructure is adequately prepared for storms.
It will facilitate the connection of up to 300,000 new homes by 2030 and the deployment of network infrastructure to support the connection of up to one million electric vehicles and a greater number of heat pumps.
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