The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 may have had an impact on the trend in some of the indicators (such as emissions to air, transport and energy) in this publication.
Total primary energy production in Ireland was 3.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 1990. It fell to 1.3 million toe in 2012. In 2022 it was 3.2 million toe.
Natural gas, as a proportion of total primary energy production declined from 54% in 1990 to 6% in 2015. It increased to 59% in 2016 with the coming on stream of the Corrib Gas Field and declined to 37% in 2022.
Peat products peaked at 57% of total primary energy production in 2003. By 2022 they had fallen to 4% of this total.
The share of renewable energy in primary energy production increased from 5% of primary energy production in 1990 to 54% in 2022.
Renewable energy accounted for 5% of Ireland’s total final energy consumption in 2021. This was the joint lowest in the EU27 (with Luxembourg and the Netherlands). Finland had the highest share of renewable energy in 2021 at 29% while the EU27 average was 12%.
Oil accounted for 50% of Ireland’s total final energy consumption in 2021 compared with an EU27 average of 35%. Sweden and Finland were the EU member states with the lowest share of oil used in final energy consumption at 21%, while Luxembourg had the highest share at 56%.
The amount of renewable energy production in Ireland has increased continuously from 168 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) in 1990 to 1,712 ktoe in 2022.
Wind has been the main source of renewable energy production in Ireland in recent years. In 2022, 56% of renewable energy production was attributable to wind and 24% to biomass and renewable waste. The share of renewable energy accounted for by hydro power fell from 36% in 1990 to 4% in 2022.
| Year | Wind | Biomass & Renewable Waste | Liquid Biofuel | Ambient heat | Hydro | Landfill Gas | Biogas | Solar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-1994 | 0.6708 | 95.0947357249892 | 0 | 0.04776 | 67.854 | 0 | 2.803512 | 0.090744 |
| 1995-1999 | 7.4992 | 98.6195231333246 | 0 | 0.04776 | 66.6672 | 14.5668 | 3.91632 | 0.105072 |
| 2000-2004 | 35.69 | 124.808205022133 | 0 | 0.818257977502673 | 61.6276 | 20.622768 | 6.390288 | 0.181488 |
| 2005-2009 | 172.9898951138 | 175.292254865928 | 14.5709351473411 | 9.72896315896389 | 66.9452567380939 | 33.6103726498694 | 10.6234133668647 | 2.22819334827027 |
| 2010-2014 | 359.25687438804 | 221.159850590567 | 23.6743189973304 | 18.984937137543 | 58.7623911454991 | 41.5465156925089 | 13.1144675446874 | 9.34875627776277 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 565.277794202 | 259.559295872138 | 24.297435161472 | 27.0062107170956 | 69.35815599686 | 41.7363299266484 | 13.6055453238044 | 11.6989299366489 |
| 2016 | 528.645676013665 | 293.026256031662 | 24.408520011744 | 32.3018988564662 | 58.568191835904 | 39.6625552900423 | 15.9234854435111 | 12.5201572210262 |
| 2017 | 640.187141481096 | 341.346299979082 | 28.377847851888 | 38.9332345881539 | 59.477849641144 | 38.9846449668077 | 16.4594524894714 | 13.4858535070851 |
| 2018 | 743.019922815326 | 388.907211964388 | 33.733667309472 | 44.0110316574376 | 59.69170898797 | 33.5318188680554 | 16.8131325765349 | 15.1135412966256 |
| 2019 | 861.675657399326 | 374.04048026248 | 45.694381461456 | 53.5610522945522 | 76.246216633584 | 31.7677199351917 | 18.859900908698 | 16.5885554781061 |
| 2020 | 993.250122774726 | 369.482325020444 | 57.447935772864 | 65.8783854033087 | 80.208366922724 | 29.2973095191293 | 20.978752439278 | 18.6718880524681 |
| 2021 | 840.940724443637 | 375.931944400802 | 80.622899519808 | 79.1175907023475 | 64.443382927958 | 29.4015162135914 | 22.6744038864252 | 20.8752354283274 |
| 2022 | 963.92 | 403.07 | 104.29 | 100.32 | 60.3 | 25.78 | 27.53 | 26.83 |
The share of renewable energy sources used in the generation of electricity in Ireland has increased from 5% in 1990 to 39% in 2022.
Wind is the main source of renewables used in electricity generation, with its share rising from 0% in 1990 to 33% of the total kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) used to generate electricity in Ireland in 2022.
Ireland’s share of gross final electricity consumption from renewable sources in 2021 at 36% was 11th highest among EU Member States and close to the EU27 average of 38%.
Austria had the highest proportion of gross final electricity consumption from renewable sources at 76% and Malta the lowest at 10% in 2021.
| Country | Total gross final electricity consumption |
|---|---|
| Austria | 76.185 |
| Sweden | 75.704 |
| Denmark | 62.647 |
| Portugal | 58.433 |
| Croatia | 53.471 |
| Latvia | 51.397 |
| Spain | 45.962 |
| Germany | 43.681 |
| Romania | 42.489 |
| Finland | 39.531 |
| EU27 | 37.506 |
| Ireland | 36.403 |
| Italy | 35.996 |
| Greece | 35.934 |
| Slovenia | 34.976 |
| Netherlands | 30.394 |
| Estonia | 29.34 |
| Belgium | 26.013 |
| France | 25.016 |
| Slovakia | 22.369 |
| Lithuania | 21.278 |
| Bulgaria | 18.79 |
| Poland | 17.166 |
| Cyprus | 14.84 |
| Czechia | 14.544 |
| Luxembourg | 14.217 |
| Hungary | 13.66 |
| Malta | 9.655 |
Renewable energy sources used in transport have grown from 0.1% of total transport energy consumption in 2006 to 6.1% in 2022. Biodiesel accounted for 5.6% of transport energy consumption in 2022 and biogasoline for 0.4%.
Ireland’s net imports of fuel in 1990 was 7.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). Net fuel imports peaked in 2008 at 15.1 million toe. By 2020, it had decreased to 9.9 million toe, but in 2022 it increased to 11.7 million toe.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by natural gas varied from 0% in 1990 to 34% in 2010. In 2022 it was 28%.
Crude oil and other oil products (such as diesel, gasoline and jet kerosene) accounted for 62% of all Irish net fuel imports in 2022.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by coal products and peat was 8% in 2022 down from 28% in 1990.
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