The solar coaster came to Ireland this week as EirGrid recorded an all-time high peak generation followed two days later by generation lows of 8 MW during the historic solar eclipse on August 12.

Grid operators across the continent tracked a 9.7GW photovoltaic shortfall as Wednesday's total solar eclipse crossed Europe, testing the region's response

Wind was also weak and three power stations were out of action, so EirGrid called on emergency backup