Solar in Ireland: Scaling Fast, With Significant Room to Grow

Ireland’s solar sector is entering a new phase of development. With capacity now exceeding 2.1 GW and rooftop installations surpassing 1 GW across more than 170,000 rooftops, solar is playing an increasingly visible role in Ireland’s electricity system and built environment.

In a new feature published in Building Services Engineering, Ronan Power, CEO of Solar Ireland, reflects on the sector’s progress in 2025 and outlines the priorities that will shape the next stage of deployment.

The article explores how solar is moving beyond early adoption and becoming an increasingly practical solution for homes, businesses and large energy users. It highlights three key realities emerging from Ireland’s rapid growth:

• Rooftop solar is expanding quickly, driven by energy awareness, improving economics and growing installation capacity across the built environment.

• Businesses are integrating solar into operational strategy, using onsite generation and corporate power purchase agreements to manage costs, emissions and resilience.

• System integration is becoming critical, with storage, smart controls and flexible demand playing a greater role in how solar supports the wider electricity system.

Drawing on insights from the Scale of Solar 2025 report, the piece also highlights the sector’s growing contribution to Ireland’s energy mix. Solar generation in 2025 was estimated at 1,558,570 MWh, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of more than 370,000 homes, while avoiding around 395,877 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

At the same time, the article emphasises that Ireland’s solar deployment remains at an early stage relative to where it needs to be by 2030. Grid capacity, planning processes, skills development and policy frameworks will all play a decisive role in enabling the next phase of growth.

Looking ahead, Solar Ireland will focus on improving system readiness, strengthening public understanding of solar energy, and supporting the continued integration of solar across Ireland’s buildings and infrastructure.

These themes will also shape Solar Ireland’s 2026 Annual Conference, Energising Life – Decarbonising How We Live, which will bring together policymakers, engineers, developers and building professionals to explore how solar can support Ireland’s evolving energy system.

Read the full article in Building Services Engineering