Renewable sources supplied 29% of Ireland's electricity in August, according to provisional data from EirGrid, the operator and developer of the country's electricity grid. Solar power accounted for 7.7% of the month's fuel mix, extending a run of records set over the summer: 9.4% in July and 8.2% in June.
Solar output up 58% from last summer
Solar generation totaled 692 GWh across June, July and August 2026, compared with 439 GWh over the same three months in 2025, an increase of 58%. Last summer, solar's share of the fuel mix was 5.3% in June, 5.8% in July and 5% in August.
August also brought two new peaks for grid-scale solar power. A peak of 1.25 GW was recorded on Tuesday 11 August at 12.41pm, then surpassed on Monday 24 August at 11.43am with a peak of 1.3 GW. The previous record, 1.22 GW, was set in May, after Ireland passed 1 GW of grid-scale solar generation for the first time in April.
Wind, gas and imports made up the rest
Wind energy contributed the largest share of renewable generation, at 18% of the overall fuel mix and 498 GWh for the month. Gas generation accounted for 42% of all electricity used in August, and 26% was imported through interconnection. 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 had been "a significant time for the contribution of solar powered energy in Ireland." He pointed to April's milestone of passing 1 GW of grid-scale solar for the first time, a mark since surpassed several times, most recently on 24 August. Gillespie said solar's contribution to the fuel mix will fall as autumn arrives and days shorten, but it is still expected to offer support to Ireland's power system during daylight hours, even in winter.
