Electricity generated from solar farms reached over one gigawatt (GW), according to new figures published by EirGrid.

For comparison, at the same time last year, a peak of around 750 MW was recorded in March 2025, and again in May 2025 with a 755 MW peak.

EirGrid estimated that 1GW is enough to power around 500,000 customers, and the new record is attributed to the growing number of solar farms connected to the power system.

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Records

The peak of 1GW (1021 MW), was set for the first time on Monday 20 April at 12.19 pm. Another record of 1087 MW was then set on Friday 24 April at 12.08 pm, followed by a record peak of 1133 MW on Saturday 25 April at 2.14 pm.

There have been a number of records on the system in recent months and across last summer, with the most recent record before the 1GW peak being 983 MW, set on 21 March.

Onshore

Onshore wind energy remains the largest contributor to renewable power in Ireland. Between February 2025 and January 2026, 3.1% of demand was met by grid-scale solar, with 33.2% met by onshore wind.

Looking over the course of a year, EirGrid’s metered data shows the percentage of electricity demand met by grid-scale solar has continued to grow. In 2023, the average was 1.1%, growing to 2% in 2024 and 3.1% by 2025.