A new milestone in renewable energy rollout has been reached with the confirmation from ESB Networks that there is now one Giga Watt of solar photovoltaic generation capacity connected to the electricity network here.
1 GW is enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 400,000 homes when it is sunny.
The peak demand point on Ireland's electricity system is around 5.5 GW.
500 MW of the total is utility-scale solar connections with two thirds of that coming from larger projects connected to the transmission system, managed by EirGrid.
A further 300 MW is coming from microgeneration, primarily produced by solar panels on homes.
The remaining 200 MW is coming from non-exporting solar generation.
"Enabling the connection of 1,000 MW of clean solar power onto Ireland’s electricity network is a significant collective achievement for ESB Networks, our solar industry partners and indeed the 82,000-strong cohort of microgeneration customers across Ireland," said Nicholas Tarrant, Managing Director of ESB Networks.
"This scale of connections is underpinned by our sustained investment in a cleaner, more resilient, and more flexible electricity system. It is reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels and ultimately delivering the electricity network for Ireland’s clean, electric future."
The news was also welcomed by the solar industry.
"Meeting our climate action targets requires a significant contribution from solar electricity, connecting 1 Giga Watt less than two years after Ireland’s first solar farm was energised demonstrates the genuine potential of solar," said Conall Bolger of the Irish Solar Energy Association.
"There is a strong pipeline of new solar farms currently under development and we must continue to support this momentum to enable Ireland to achieve its goal of 8 GW of solar by 2030," he stated.
News of the milestone was also welcomed by the Minister for Climate, Eamon Ryan
"Since I launched the first solar farm in Co Wicklow in May 2022, there has been a major acceleration in the deployment of solar farms, providing new income streams to farmers, supporting jobs and benefitting communities across the country," he said.
"Today’s announcement marks an important milestone in Ireland’s journey to 8GW of solar connections by 2030 and shows that even in 'cloudy Ireland’ we can harness our homegrown green resources to power homes and businesses," he added.
