Ireland has more than 500 MW of distributed solar

According to data from a newly launched tracker tool by Kilowatt.ie for small-scale solar in Ireland, capacity has grown from 20 MW in 2019 to 500 MW currently. Growth has surged since 2022, thanks to policy changes.

Irish homes and businesses saved approximately €88 million on electricity costs in 2024 using small-scale solar energy systems of up to 50 kW, according to industry data.

To date, more than 120,000 small-scale solar systems have been installed nationwide, with a combined capacity of 500 MW. This is equivalent to more than one million panels now generating clean energy across Ireland’s rooftops.

The figures come from data published by electricity price comparison website Kilowatt.ie, which uses publicly available data from the government and associated energy agencies such as ESB Networks. Kilowatt.ie has incorporated this data into its newly launched online tracking tool for small-scale solar in Ireland.

The growth of small-scale solar can be attributed to policy changes and incentives, said Dominic Ó Gallachóir, founder of Kilowatt.ie.

“The growth of solar microgeneration in Ireland has taken off since late 2022, driven by multiple factors: the removal of planning permission requirements for rooftop solar, the introduction of export payments, and grants from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI),” he said.

According to the tracker’s data, just over 20,000 systems (20 MW) were installed nationwide as of 2019. The steepest growth in installations occurred between 2023 and 2025.

“It's encouraging to see substantial savings for electricity consumers. We're now witnessing more households completely eliminating their electricity bills by combining extensive solar installations with electricity tariffs offering generous export payments,” said Ó Gallachóir.

Ireland’s electricity transmission system operator EirGrid’s Ten-Year Generation Capacity Statement 2023 to 2032 projects Ireland’s electricity demand will grow by around 42%. Policy incentives to encourage microgeneration are a move in the right direction, as people like Ó Gallachóir agree.

Ireland is targeting 8 GW of installed solar capacity by 2030. Its total deployed solar PV capacity in 2023 amounted to 505 MW, largely driven by utility-scale activity. As Kilowatt.ie's tracker shows residential small-scale solar can contribute to Ireland's targets, but as Ó Gallachóir pointed out, its success is very dependent on the government providing the appropriate incentives to homeowners to install systems.

In December 2024, pv magazine reported that SEAI data showed uptake of retrofitting grants in Ireland was heavily influenced by appetite for solar among homeowners. At the time, this uptake may have been influenced by the fact the government was planning to cut the grant from Jan. 1, 2025. However, Ireland underwent a government reshuffle at the beginning of 2025, which has promised to keep retrofitting incentives.