Ireland is reviewing its electricity system, with the Irish Government developing a blueprint to reshape the nation’s power sector by 2050.
Work is underway on a long-term strategy outlining how Ireland plans to generate, transmit, and regulate electricity to support the 2050 climate objective.
On 29 July, Minister for Climate, Energy, and the Environment Darragh O’Brien said the new White Paper on Ireland’s power sector will provide a framework for future policy development, legislation, and investment.
The White Paper will address strategic issues and trade-offs in the power sector and will set out how the nation can develop a future energy system based on clean electricity, greater energy security, and affordability for all.
“This White Paper will be a key part of guiding the energy transition to clean, secure, affordable electricity. It will set a path to deliver — for this generation and future generations,” O’Brien says.
The review comes as Ireland’s electricity demand is forecast to surge over the coming decades. Data centres consumed 23% of Ireland’s total metered electricity in 2025, up from 5% in 2015.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), rising numbers of electric vehicles and heat pumps continue to increase the overall grid load and reshape traditional nighttime demand.
Ireland’s energy supply is also heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) reports that 82.6% of Ireland’s energy came from fossil fuels in 2023.
At the same time, the nation set a record high of 23.38 terawatt-hours in renewable energy use across electricity, transport, and heat. Ireland’s renewable energy use also helped avoid 74 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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