Lower electricity bills may not be blowing in the wind

Sunny and windy seem to be the most beneficial weather forecast when it comes to renewable energy in Ireland, at least in the context of solar and wind energy production. While we await expected growth in biomethane production in the years ahead (turn to page 24 for our interview with Seán Finan, CEO of the Irish Bioenergy Association), wind and solar electrical energy production have been forging ahead. The production figures for April, averaged across the month, showed wind power providing over 37 per cent of our electricity needs. Solar farms, a relatively new contributor to Irish electricity needs at large commercial scale, chipped in with 5.7 per cent of our electrical energy requirements for the month. That figure does not include the ever-increasing amounts of solar energy being produced on the roofs of private dwellings and business premises across the country. We are, without fully realising it, in the midst of an energy-production revolution in Ireland, particularly in relation to solar energy output.

Just 12 months ago, in April 2025, large-scale solar production amounted to a meagre 0.9 per cent of our electricity output. Leaving aside whether it was very cloudy last April or very sunny this April, that is still an astounding increase in output, and with the ongoing adoption at scale of the technology, the contribution to the national grid should at least double over the next couple of years. That takes no account of the astonishing speed of solar panel installation on homes across the country, with wait times now running at a minimum of two months.
Eirgrid figures show that total generation from wind and grid scale solar last April was 1,078GWh (gigawatt hours) and 163GWh, respectively, compared with 761GWh and 119GWh in April 2025. While the figures are impressive and likely to increase significantly with more on-shore and, perhaps, off-shore, wind turbines in planning and development, as well as further farm-scale solar energy installations at various stages of financing, land assembly, planning or development, there is another unfortunate reality that Irish electricity consumers are only too well aware of. Irish electricity costs continue to be among the highest in the European Union. That suggests that while energy self-sufficiency is improving, renewable energy developments are not delivering cheaper electricity. Maybe that was never part of the plan, but it was generally anticipated that significant cost reductions would be accrued by consumers as renewable energy was developed. The fact that wind and solar power require significant back-up capacity in the form of coal, oil, and gas-powered generators on standby for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine – especially all through the night – means that additional electricity production costs are always there in the background. Anyone holding their breath until renewable, Irish-produced electricity results in lower ESB bills, will need plenty of lung capacity.