Over the past few years, solar power has emerged as an unexpected champion in Ireland’s renewable energy mix. In this article, we look at why solar is a good fit for Ireland – flexible, cost-effective and surprisingly suited to Irish conditions.
Surging solar capacity
Globally, solar power has surged in the past five years. Just looking at new capacity added each year, this has jumped from 119 GW in 2019 to 553 GW in 2024. That’s an increase of over 460%. In Ireland, solar generation capacity has grown rapidly, from a standing start just a few years ago to a total of around 1.7GW connected to the electricity network today - enough to generate electricity to power around 370,000 houses annually (figures from Solar Ireland 'Scale of Solar 2025'). The national Climate Action Plan has set a target of 8GW of solar power by 2030, and ESB plans to deliver a significant proportion of this.
A flexible clean energy source
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is incredibly flexible and can be deployed in a number of ways. ‘Utility-scale’ solar energy generally refers to what most people know as solar farms: rows of large panels at a single site, feeding electricity directly to the electricity grid and capable of supplying enough energy to power thousands of homes and businesses. Smaller-scale commercial and mini-generation sites are often incorporated in businesses, farms or public facilities to generate their own electricity and offset emissions. And rooftop solar panels have become a familiar sight on houses all over the country. Today, Ireland has over 120,000 such ‘microgeneration’ connections, many of which feed excess electricity back into the grid.
*Figures from Solar Ireland Scale of Solar 2025
Surprisingly suited to Irish conditions
Until recently, the idea of solar power in Ireland may have raised a few eyebrows. (“Here? With our weather…?”) Yet innovation in solar PV technology means that today’s panels can generate power from daylight even when the sun is not shining – on average 30% , but as much as 60% of full capacity depending on cloud cover. Solar is also the ideal complement to wind: onshore wind output tends to be lower in summer, when solar is at its best. And solar is a good fit for the Ireland’s typical pattern of energy demand. Compared to other countries, we use far more electricity during the day than by night. As solar operates only during daylight hours, it can deliver this necessary boost.
Makes economic sense
There are a number of compelling economic reasons for Ireland to choose solar. The cost of solar technology (calculated using a standardised metric called the ‘levelised cost of energy’) has dropped dramatically in recent years. When it comes down to considering the cost to produce a unit of electricity, solar is competitive with other renewables. This makes it an essential technology for reaching net zero in a cost-efficient way.
Another economic benefit is that the installation and maintenance of solar farms creates high-skilled construction and engineering jobs at a local level all around the country. KPMG has put the current number of jobs directly supported by the solar industry in Ireland at over 5,000. Across Europe, this number is over 825,000. Overall, KPMG has estimated that the Irish solar industry could contribute upwards of €7 billion to our national economic output by 2030.
Co-existing with agriculture
The rapid growth of solar in recent years and ambitious future targets have prompted some concerns about how new solar farms will impact agricultural land. While Ireland is still in the early stages of its solar journey, studies carried out elsewhere in Europe give an indication of how utility-scale solar affects land use. One UK study showed that even under the most ambitious solar rollout scenario, the land area required would be equivalent to just 0.5% of land now used for farming (and only half the space currently used for golf courses). Running similar numbers for Ireland, we could expect the target 8,000MW of solar in Ireland by 2030 to require an area equal to just 0.26% of all agricultural land.
And even though building solar on agricultural land is a change of use, it can still contribute to farming activities. Lands at solar farms offer significant potential for biodiversity, which can help to meet nature restoration goals. An All-Island Pollinator Plan report shows great potential for solar farms to support a pollinator population in decline. Alternatively, solar farms can still be utilised to graze sheep, with the sheep providing a cost-effective approach to vegetation management. This approach provides an attractive diversification opportunity for farmers.
