Thirty nine per cent of Ireland’s electricity was generated from renewable sources last month, up from 33 per cent during the same month last year, provisional data from EirGrid shows.The operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid said May was a “significant month” for the amount of solar energy on the power system, contributing 7.8 per cent to the overall fuel mix. This compared to 5.7 per cent in April and 6 per cent in May 2025. With the sunnier weather, a series of new peaks were set throughout the month with the highest being achieved on May 25th, when a new peak for grid-scale solar was achieved contributing 1,222 megawatts to Ireland’s electricity mix. Ireland reached a new peak of over 1 gigawatt of electricity provided by grid-scale solar power for the first time in April.At 28 per cent, wind energy made up a significant proportion of the total amount of energy generated across May. Total generation of wind amounted to 784 gigawatt hours (GWh).Elsewhere in May, gas generation accounted for 41 per cent of all electricity used, while 21 per cent was imported via interconnection.[ EirGrid to pay landowners up to €50,000 per pylon along its north-south powerlineOpens in new window ]The overall electricity system demand stood at 2,794 GWh in May compared to 2,865 GWh in April.EirGrid carries out the task of balancing the supply of renewable sources alongside conventional generation sources to ensure that demand can be met. It said “significant progress” has been made in integrating renewables on to Ireland’s power system. “To date the developments we have made have enabled up to 75 per cent of electricity to be generated from variable renewable sources at any one time and we have a significant work programme under way to increase this to 95 per cent,” it said.“When there is a significant amount of solar generation on the grid as there was in May, EirGrid is observing days where the demand for electricity is similar in the early afternoon as it is at night.” It said this could largely be explained by embedded solar generation helping to supply demand, including through rooftop panels.EirGrid director of system operations Diarmaid Gillespie said: “With solar power making almost 8 per cent of the overall fuel mix, as well as the peak records set during the month of May, we have seen again just how important it has become as a source of renewable energy.”