New renewable power records for August: EirGrid

Last month saw record amounts of renewable energy produced for August, provisional data from grid operator EirGrid shows.

Around 898 GWh (Gigawatt hours) of electricity was generated from grid-connected windfarms in August, the highest ever figure recorded for that month. This provided for 34% of electricity used in Ireland, representing an increase from the previous August record of 867 GWh set last year.

Meanwhile, grid-scale solar power surpassed the historic 100 GWh mark for the second month in a row in August, with the figure of 103 GWh of electricity produced accounting for 3.9% of demand last month, falling slightly behind the all-time record set in July.

Overall 40% of electricity used in August came from renewables, with total electricity system demand standing at 2,639 GWh for the month.

Gas generation accounted for 37% of all electricity used in August (977 GWh), with 18.6% being imported via interconnection (492 GWh), 3% coming from coal (78 GWh), and the remaining 1% from other sources.

EirGrid is responsible for leading Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon future so that 80% of electricity can come from renewables by 2030, as set out in Government targets.

Diarmaid Gillespie, Director of System Operations at EirGrid, said: “While we had a bit more wind power on the system compared to August 2023, the amount of solar energy generated for the grid almost doubled from the same month last year, which shows the rate of progress we’re seeing in integrating different types of renewables onto the electricity grid.”