Solar progressing

The rollout of solar energy continues through 2026, with 3GW of installed capacity from rooftop solar to utility scale solar farms. Despite the progress, reaching the 2030 Climate Action Plan target of 8GW remains a tall order.

In August 2026, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment announced that Installed capacity for solar energy from rooftop solar to utility-scale solar farms passes 3GW throughout the State.

On the same day, the Department confirmed that peak output from utility-scale solar farms reached a new record of 1.3GW, meeting over one-third of national electricity demand on the grid at that time.

The Department states that solar “is now a key pillar of our electricity supply, and continues to grow at pace”.

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien TD stated that the rollout of solar energy “continues to accelerate at pace”.

In August 2026, Ireland set a new record for peak output from utility-scale solar farms on the national grid. On the week commencing 24 August 2026, generation from utility-scale solar farms on the grid surpassed 1.3GW, supplying one-third of the State’s total dispatchable electricity generation at that time.

In addition, it has been confirmed that over 200,000 homes across the State have installed solar panels, while over 120,000 homes have received solar PV grants since the PV support scheme began.

SEAI states that it received over 31,000 applications for Solar PV in 2026, by the halfway point of the year in July 2026. This is a 76 per cent increase on the same period in 2025.

Furthermore, free solar panels have been provided to 2,000 schools across Ireland. Where excess energy is produced, it can be sold into the grid under microgeneration.

Government schemes such as the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS), and the Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS), incentivise the development of solar energy from households, communities, and large-scale developments.

Minister O’Brien says: “The successful solar growth in Ireland has been underpinned by clear government policy and targeted support schemes and measures. Through initiatives such as the Solar PV grant, and our various renewable electricity support schemes, solar deployment is supported at every scale. We are committed to funding the solar PV grant for the lifetime of this government, up until 2030.

“Looking at renewable electricity as a whole, we now have over 8GW of generation capacity connected to the network. To put that into perspective, we have added approximately 5GW of new renewable electricity generation capacity in just 10 years. That includes a doubling of our wind energy capacity, along with establishing a strong solar energy supply. Just over 10 years ago there were 2MW of solar in Ireland. Now, there are over 3,000MW.”