Solar farms supplied 2.8% of Ireland’s electricity in March – EirGrid

Power from solar farms supplied 2.8% of the country’s electricity in March, according to new figures from EirGrid.

March represented the third-highest amount of solar powered electricity produced in the course of a calendar month, the network operator has said.

25 March saw a new peak for grid-scale solar power in Ireland, with over 750 megawatts (MW) coming from this source at one point – 18MW more than the previous record from July 2024. This follows a new peak wind power record on the grid set in February.

Last month also saw further records set on the power system, with the highest ever level of discharge from grid-scale battery power sources seen on 14 March.

Wind power met one third of electricity demand in March, while gas was the single biggest source of electricity generation for the month at 39% - and 18% of demand was met by electricity imported via interconnection.

Alongside renewables, gas-powered generation and interconnection are important contributors towards meeting system demand, particularly at times of low renewable availability.

Penetration

Overall electricity system demand stood at 3,061 gigawatt hours (GWh) for March.

Currently, the electricity grid can accommodate up to 75% of electricity from renewable sources at any one time - what is known as the system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP) limit.

Mixing electricity from synchronous (from conventional generation) and non-synchronous (renewables) sources while operating the power system is a very complex task and Ireland’s current 75% SNSP limit is among the highest in the world, EirGrid said.

While renewable generation reached up to the 75% limit at various points in the month, there were also periods where renewable generation provided for as little as 5% of demand.