In 2023, Ireland produced 3 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) of primary energy. This was 4.5% lower than the 2022 figure of 3.145 million tonnes and 40.5%, lower than the peak figure of 5.048 million tonnes in 2018.
Natural gas made up 60% of Ireland's energy production in 1990-1994. Its share fell to just 6% by 2015, then jumped to 59% in 2016 with the start of the Corrib Gas Field, but decreased to 31% in 2023.
Peat products, from 2000-2014 was greater than 45% of primary energy production in Ireland. By 2023 they had fallen to 4% of this total, due to the adoption of restrictions on the commercial harvesting of this fuel.
Renewable energy sources have grown substantially, from an average of 5% of primary energy production in 1990-1994 to 59% in 2023.
In summary, by 2023, Ireland's primary energy production was 3 million toe, with renewable energy making up the largest share at 59%, followed by natural gas at 31%, and peat products at 4%, highlighted in table 7.1.
In 2022, renewable energy made up just 5.3% of Ireland’s total final energy consumption—the lowest percentage among all EU27 countries. By comparison, Sweden led the way, with almost one-third (29.4%) of its energy coming from renewable sources, while the EU27 average was 12.2%.
When it came to oil, over half of Ireland’s energy use (51%) relied on this fuel, ranking Ireland as the fifth-highest user of oil in the EU27. This was significantly above the EU average of 36.8%. At the other end of the scale, Sweden used the least oil, with just 19.3% of its energy coming from this source, whereas Cyprus relied on oil the most, at 55.2%.
Ireland stood out for its heavy reliance on oil and low adoption of renewable energy compared to other EU countries, which can be seen in Table 7.2
The amount of renewable energy production in Ireland has increased continuously from an average of 167 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) between 1990 and 1994 to 1,771 ktoe in 2023.
Wind has been the main source of renewable energy production in Ireland in recent years. In 2023, 57% of renewable energy production was attributable to wind and 19% to biomass and renewable waste. The share of renewable energy accounted for by hydro power fell from 41% in 1990–1994 to 5% in 2023.
| Year | Wind | Biomass & Renewable Waste | Ambient heat | Liquid biofuel | Hydro | Solar | Landfill gas | Biogas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-1994 | 0.7 | 95.1 | 0 | 0 | 67.9 | 0.1 | 0 | 2.8 |
| 1995-1999 | 7.5 | 98.6 | 0 | 0 | 66.7 | 0.1 | 14.6 | 3.9 |
| 2000-2004 | 35.7 | 124.8 | 0.8 | 0 | 61.6 | 0.2 | 20.6 | 6.4 |
| 2005-2009 | 173 | 175.3 | 9.7 | 14.6 | 66.9 | 2.2 | 33.6 | 10.6 |
| 2010-2014 | 359.3 | 221.2 | 19 | 23.7 | 58.8 | 9.3 | 41.5 | 13.1 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 565.3 | 259.6 | 27 | 24.3 | 69.4 | 11.7 | 41.7 | 13.6 |
| 2016 | 528.6 | 293 | 32.3 | 24.4 | 58.6 | 12.5 | 39.7 | 15.9 |
| 2017 | 640.2 | 341.3 | 38.9 | 28.4 | 59.5 | 13.5 | 39 | 16.5 |
| 2018 | 743 | 388.9 | 44 | 33.7 | 59.7 | 15.1 | 33.5 | 16.8 |
| 2019 | 861.7 | 374 | 53.6 | 45.7 | 76.2 | 16.6 | 31.8 | 18.9 |
| 2020 | 993.3 | 369.5 | 65.9 | 57.4 | 80.2 | 18.8 | 29.3 | 21 |
| 2021 | 840.9 | 375.9 | 79.3 | 80.6 | 64.5 | 21.3 | 29.4 | 22.7 |
| 2022 | 963.9 | 393.6 | 101.5 | 104.3 | 60.3 | 26.8 | 25.8 | 27.5 |
| 2023 | 1003.7 | 340.5 | 126.7 | 97.5 | 81.1 | 69.7 | 24.5 | 27.6 |
The share of renewable energy sources used in the generation of electricity in Ireland has increased from an average of 5% in 1990-1994 to 41% in 2023.
Wind is the main source of renewables used in electricity generation, with its share rising from 0% in 1990-1994 to 34% of the total kilo-tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) used to generate electricity in Ireland in 2023.
Ireland’s share of gross final electricity consumption from renewable sources in 2022 at 36.8% was below the EU27 average of 41.2%.
Sweden had the highest proportion of gross final electricity consumption from renewable sources at 83.3% and Malta the lowest at 10.1% in 2022.
| Country | Total gross final electricity consumption |
|---|---|
| Sweden | 83.3 |
| Denmark | 77.2 |
| Austria | 74.7 |
| Portugal | 61 |
| Croatia | 55.5 |
| Latvia | 53.3 |
| Spain | 50.9 |
| Finland | 47.9 |
| Germany | 47.6 |
| Romania | 43.7 |
| Greece | 42.4 |
| EU27 | 41.2 |
| Netherlands | 39.9 |
| Italy | 37.1 |
| Slovenia | 37 |
| Ireland | 36.8 |
| Estonia | 29.1 |
| Belgium | 29.1 |
| France | 27.3 |
| Lithuania | 26.5 |
| Slovakia | 22.9 |
| Poland | 21 |
| Bulgaria | 20.2 |
| Cyprus | 17 |
| Luxembourg | 15.9 |
| Czechia | 15.5 |
| Hungary | 15.3 |
| Malta | 10.1 |
Renewable energy sources used in transport have grown from an average 0.9% of total transport energy consumption in 2006-2009 to 7.7% in 2023. Biodiesel accounted for 6.6% of transport energy consumption in 2023 and bio-gasoline for 0.8%.
Ireland’s net imports of fuel fell by 3.5% from 11.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2022 to 11.3 million toe in 2023.This compares with a peak figure of 14.5 million toe between 2005 and 2009.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by natural gas varied from 0% in 1990-1994 to 32% in 2010-2014. In 2023 it was 28%.
Crude oil and other oil products (such as diesel, gasoline and jet kerosene) accounted for 64% of all Irish net fuel imports in 2023.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by coal products and peat was 3% in 2023 down from 27% in 1990-1994.
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