New provisional data from EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland's electricity grid, indicates that almost one third (29%) of electricity demand in August was met by renewable sources.

Solar accounted for 7.7% of the monthly fuel mix. This follows record summer contributions from grid-scale solar of 9.4% in July and 8.2% in June (excluding rooftop solar).

Year on year, grid-scale solar output rose sharply. In summer 2025, solar provided 5.3% of the fuel mix in June, 5.8% in July and 5.0% in August, totalling 439 GWh across the three months. The same period in 2026 produced 692 GWh, an increase of 58%.

August also brought two new peaks for electricity supplied by grid-scale solar: 1.25 GW at 12.41pm on Tuesday 11 August, and 1.3 GW at 11.43am on Monday 24 August. The previous high, 1.22 GW, was set in May, shortly after Ireland exceeded 1 GW from grid-scale solar for the first time in April.

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Wind energy was the largest single renewable contributor in August at 18% of the overall fuel mix, generating 498 GWh. Gas provided 42% of electricity, while 26% was imported via interconnectors.

Total system demand reached 2,796 GWh in August, up from 2,744 GWh in July.

EirGrid's Director of System Operations, Diarmaid Gillespie, said: "Spring and summer 2026 has been a significant time for the contribution of solar powered energy in Ireland.

"Notably in April we reached the milestone of over 1 GW of electricity provided by grid-scale solar power for the first time. This record has since been surpassed a number of times over the last months and most recently on 24 August with a peak of 1.3 GW.

"These milestones show how important solar power has become in Ireland as a source of renewable energy as well as the progress that we are making towards a more sustainable electricity grid.

"As we head into the autumn and the days get shorter, solar generation will contribute less to the fuel mix. However it is still expected to provide support to the power system during day light hours, even in the depths of winter."

About the data: Figures are based on 15-minute SCADA readings (MW) for Ireland only and are provisional, using real-time unmetered data. The Average Fuel Mix reflects system generation and net imports across the power system. "Renewables" includes wind, solar, hydro and biomass, and excludes some non-centrally monitored generation (such as small-scale combined heat and power and microgeneration). Solar figures exclude rooftop (embedded) solar. System demand represents the electricity production required to meet national consumption, including system losses, but net of generators' own use.