Solar power in Ireland continued to hit all time record highs last month as the summer weather really got going.

Sunny weather in June produced a number of new solar power records for Ireland, according to provisional data from grid operator EirGrid.

Particularly fine weather on June 6 and 16 saw a number of records set for daily solar power generation, with the final peak of the month coming shortly before noon on Thursday, June 19 when 768MW (Megawatts) of electricity was being generated by solar power.

This is almost 200MW higher than the peak figures seen in June 2024, showing the massive expansion of solar farms in the past year.

In total solar power generated 5.4% of Ireland’s electricity in June, with none of this including rooftop solar power, which has also grown massively.

Renewable energy as a whole accounted for 38% of the country’s total in June, with wind power by far the largest source at 30%. Grid-scale solar power provided another 5.4%, and 2.5% came from other renewables.

While renewable energy can provide for up to 75% of electricity at any given time – what is known as the System Non-Synchronous Penetration or ‘SNSP’ limit – the level of renewables on the system dropped to as low as 5% at points in June.

Periods of lowest renewable availability typically occur on still nights where there is little wind and no solar activity, with electricity predominantly coming from conventional generation at such times.

Charlie McGee, System Operational Manager at EirGrid, said: “While it doesn’t necessarily need to be sunny to produce solar power, some of the peaks we see over the summer period typically occur during periods of strong sunshine.

“The increased rollout of grid-scale solar in Ireland means we’re seeing more records being set, with a marked increase from the levels of generation we saw just a year ago.”

It was a big month for coal, as June was the last month in which coal power will be used to generate electricity after the power plant at Moneypoint saw its final usage.

Gas remained the single largest source of electricity last month, accounting for 36% of the total generated, while another 23% of electricity used in the country was imported.

Overall electricity system demand stood at 2,636 GWh (Gigawatt Hours) for June, marking a slight decrease from May’s electricity demand.

Charlie McGee added, “June was an important month for the electricity grid in another sense, as we will no longer see coal reflected in our fuel mix following its final use in Moneypoint last month.”