Ireland has a national target of 8GW of installed solar capacity by 2030 under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme.
Ireland’s solar sector has grown its total capacity to 2.7GW over the past three years, according to Solar Ireland’s annual ‘Scale of Solar’ report on the industry.
Connected solar capacity in Ireland is now forecast to exceed 3.3GW by the end of this year, having grown by 297pc from 2023 and by 53pc – or nearly 1GW – in the 12 months to May 2026.
In the past year, the sun generated more than 1.17TWh of electricity across Ireland, according to the report, which is equivalent to the country’s 460,000 connected solar homes.
Solar farms providing utility scale capacity have surpassed the 1.5GW mark throughout the year. The minimum capacity from rooftop systems installed on farms, schools, commercial buildings, public buildings and small industries is up to 58MW, while the capacity of small generation from homes, farms, schools and small businesses is up to 805MW.
Ireland has a national target of 8GW of installed solar capacity by 2030 under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme. To achieve this, the report estimated, an additional capacity of 0.8-1.3GW per year would be needed until 2030, with between 5,000 and 7,000 new jobs potentially created and a contribution of more than €2.3bn to the Irish economy potentially due to solar development.
Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien, TD said: “In just 12 months, Ireland has added 1GW of solar capacity, helping to strengthen Ireland’s energy, reduce emissions and increase the share of domestically produced renewable electricity in our system.
“As demand for electricity continues to grow, driven by the electrification of homes, transport and industry, investment in renewable energy infrastructure will be critical.
Solar already makes a very important contribution to Ireland’s electricity system and will continue to play an important role in supporting energy resilience, economic competitiveness and a sustainable energy future.
The report noted that more than 190,000 Irish homes and businesses have used rooftop solar power, with Clare being the county with the highest number of people using solar power per capita.
A rooftop solar installation could result in the removal of an estimated 155,000 tons of CO2 over the past 12 months, according to the report.
In terms of consumption – solar farm – generation, Meath (441GWh), Wexford (174GWh) and Cork (110GWh) were the top three producing counties last year.
Solar Ireland CEO Ronan Power said: “Ireland’s solar story is no longer defined solely by positioning.
“Solar is now making a tangible contribution to homes, farms, schools, businesses and communities across the country.
“Grid infrastructure, planning processes, workforce capacity, market design and community participation will all play a key role in determining how quickly Ireland can continue to scale solar generation.”
SiliconRepublic.com recently spoke with Calvin Lan, CEO of Huawei Ireland, about Ireland’s goals for solar and renewable energy.
Don’t miss out on the information you need to succeed. Sign up for Daily BriefSilicon Republic’s digest of must-know sci-tech news.
