A new record for solar generation in Ireland was set in March, according to Irish grid operator EirGrid.
On 25 March, grid scale solar power in the Republic of Ireland Ireland supplied 750MW at one stage of the day—over 18MW more than the previous record for Irish solar, which was set in July 2024. Overall, March saw the third-highest ever amount of solar powered electricity produced in a calendar month for Ireland.
Furthermore, battery energy storage systems (BESS) on the Irish grid network also set records of their own. On 14 March, 300MW of power was discharged from grid-scale BESS installations, a new record. According to EirGrid, this 300MW output is greater than the maximum output of the Turlough Hill hydropower facility near Dublin.
Overall, renewable energy supplied 39% of the Republic of Ireland’s electricity needs in March. Wind power supplied around one-third of the nation’s electricity, while gas was the single biggest source of electricity at 39%. Around 18% of demand was met by electricity imports via interconnection, while solar supplied around 2.8%. Overall demand on the system was 3,061GWh across March.
As reported by our sister site, Current±, the Irish renewable energy sector has been going from strength to strength in recent months and years. February 2025 saw over half of Ireland’s electricity needs met by renewable power, the majority of which came from wind. Wind power alone supplied around 48% of demand in February, while solar energy met around 1.3% of demand.
Ireland added over 400MW of utility-scale ground-mounted solar capacity in 2024, which saw the nation cross a milestone of having over 1GW of operational capacity installed. According to analysis from Solar Media Market Research, Ireland is on track for its most successful year for solar yet in 2025, with year-on-year capacity additions forecast to increase by over 100%.
Currently, the Irish grid system can support up to 75% of its electricity from renewable sources at any one time, a figure known as the system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP) limit. EirGrid is currently working to increase the SNSP limit in order to ensure that Ireland can hit its target of having 80% of its electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.
Charlie McGee, system operational manager at EirGrid, called March “a landmark month” for solar power on the electricity grid. McGee added that the new peak in BESS delivery was “encouraging” adding that this, combined with records for wind power generation set in February, prove the need for battery storage on the Irish grid network.
