Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland
Ireland: Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal was 13.23 terawatt-hours in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland, 1990–2025
Source: Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 13.23 terawatt-hours for electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in 2025. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 98.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland peaked at 13.23 terawatt-hours in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0 terawatt-hours, in 1990.
Ireland ranks 36th of 212 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1991 | 0 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1992 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1993 | 0.02 terawatt-hours | +100.0% |
| 1994 | 0.02 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.02 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.01 terawatt-hours | -50.0% |
| 1997 | 0.05 terawatt-hours | +400.0% |
| 1998 | 0.17 terawatt-hours | +240.0% |
| 1999 | 0.19 terawatt-hours | +11.8% |
| 2000 | 0.25 terawatt-hours | +31.6% |
| 2001 | 0.34 terawatt-hours | +36.0% |
| 2002 | 0.39 terawatt-hours | +14.7% |
| 2003 | 0.46 terawatt-hours | +17.9% |
| 2004 | 0.67 terawatt-hours | +45.7% |
| 2005 | 1.13 terawatt-hours | +68.7% |
| 2006 | 1.65 terawatt-hours | +46.0% |
| 2007 | 1.99 terawatt-hours | +20.6% |
| 2008 | 2.45 terawatt-hours | +23.1% |
| 2009 | 3 terawatt-hours | +22.4% |
| 2010 | 2.86 terawatt-hours | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 4.45 terawatt-hours | +55.6% |
| 2012 | 4.08 terawatt-hours | -8.3% |
| 2013 | 4.62 terawatt-hours | +13.2% |
| 2014 | 5.22 terawatt-hours | +13.0% |
| 2015 | 6.68 terawatt-hours | +28.0% |
| 2016 | 6.25 terawatt-hours | -6.4% |
| 2017 | 7.58 terawatt-hours | +21.3% |
| 2018 | 8.8 terawatt-hours | +16.1% |
| 2019 | 10.21 terawatt-hours | +16.0% |
| 2020 | 11.8 terawatt-hours | +15.6% |
| 2021 | 10.02 terawatt-hours | -15.1% |
| 2022 | 11.54 terawatt-hours | +15.2% |
| 2023 | 12.51 terawatt-hours | +8.4% |
| 2024 | 12.69 terawatt-hours | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 13.23 terawatt-hours | +4.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 13.23 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.15 terawatt-hours, 6.2× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 13.23 terawatt-hours is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.66 terawatt-hours, 2.3× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | +400.0% | 0.01 terawatt-hours | 0.05 terawatt-hours |
| 1998 | +240.0% | 0.05 terawatt-hours | 0.17 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.049 terawatt-hours | 0 terawatt-hours | 0.19 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.23 terawatt-hours | 0.25 terawatt-hours | 3 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.08 terawatt-hours | 2.86 terawatt-hours | 10.21 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.96 terawatt-hours | 10.02 terawatt-hours | 13.23 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More energy & mining data for Ireland
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -1.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 6.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland?
- Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal in Ireland was 13.23 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 13.23 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 terawatt-hours in 1990.
- How does Ireland rank for electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal?
- Ireland ranks 36th out of 212 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 98.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026); Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026); Pinto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation from solar and wind compared to coal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours.