The ‘Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland: Year ending December 2025’ report was published today, providing a detailed breakdown of the region's transition toward sustainable power. The findings serve as a benchmark for the Climate Change Act target, which mandates that at least 80% of electricity consumption must be derived from renewable sources by 2030.

Following recent data improvements, the report has transitioned to a Gross Final Electricity Consumption approach for its measurement and reporting.

The volume of renewable electricity generated in the year ending December 2025 reached 4,073 GWh. This figure is equivalent to 47% of the total gross final electricity consumption (8,755 GWh), marking a notable increase from the 44% recorded in the previous year.

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Gross final electricity consumption, which accounts for total demand by calculating generation plus imports minus exports, has shown a slow but consistent decline over recent years. Demand has fallen from 9,569 GWh in the year ending December 2018 to the current level of 8,755 GWh.

In terms of specific generation within Northern Ireland, a total of 8,178 GWh of electricity was produced during the period. This was split equally between renewable and non-renewable sources, with each accounting for 50% of the total.

Wind power remains the dominant force in the renewable sector, contributing 72% of the 4,073 GWh generated. Other contributors included:

• Bioenergy (20%)

• Solar PV (6%)

• Landfill gas (1%)

• Hydro and tidal generation (1%)

The report also detailed Northern Ireland's electricity trade balance. In the year to December 2025, the region was a net importer of electricity, bringing in 578 GWh more than it exported. This represents a significant increase in net imports compared to the year ending December 2024, when the net import figure stood at 92 GWh.

The full report is available at: www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/electricity-consumption-and-renewable-generation-statistics