The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 may have had an impact on 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 2021 it was 3 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 had declined to 41% in 2021.
Peat products peaked at 58% of total primary energy production in 2003. By 2021 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 50% in 2021.
Renewable energy accounted for 4% of Ireland’s total final energy consumption in 2020. This was the lowest in the EU27. Sweden had the highest share of renewable energy in 2020 at 29% while the EU27 average was 12%.
Oil accounted for 50% of Ireland’s total final energy consumption in 2020 compared with an EU27 average of 35%. Sweden was the EU member state with the lowest share of oil used in final energy consumption at 21%, while Cyprus had the highest share at 57%.
The amount of renewable energy production in Ireland has increased continuously from 168 kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) in 1990 to 1,612 ktoe in 2020.
Wind has been the main source of renewable energy production in Ireland in recent years. In 2020, 62% of renewable energy production was attributable to wind and 23% to biomass. The share of renewable energy accounted for by hydro power fell from 36% in 1990 to 5% in 2020.
| Year | Wind | Biomass & renewable waste | Hydro | Ambient heat | Liquid biofuel | Landfill gas | Biogas | Solar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-1994 | 0.6708 | 95.0947357249892 | 67.854 | 0.04776 | 0 | 0 | 2.803512 | 0.090744 |
| 1995-1999 | 7.4992 | 98.6195231333246 | 66.6672 | 0.04776 | 0 | 14.5668 | 3.91632 | 0.105072 |
| 2000-2004 | 35.69 | 124.808205022133 | 61.6276 | 0.818257977502673 | 0 | 20.622768 | 6.390288 | 0.181488 |
| 2005-2009 | 172.9898951138 | 175.292254865928 | 66.9452567380939 | 9.72896315896389 | 14.5709351473411 | 33.6103726498694 | 10.6234133668647 | 2.22819334827027 |
| 2010-2014 | 359.25687438804 | 221.137639246524 | 58.7623911454991 | 18.984937137543 | 23.6743189973304 | 41.5465156925089 | 13.1144675446874 | 9.35052343721407 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 565.277794202 | 259.517889950125 | 69.35815599686 | 27.0062107170956 | 24.297435161472 | 41.7363299266484 | 13.6055453238044 | 11.7369359005897 |
| 2016 | 528.645676013665 | 292.985308150686 | 58.568191835904 | 32.3018988564662 | 24.408520011744 | 39.6625552900423 | 15.9234854435111 | 12.6013010503993 |
| 2017 | 640.187141481096 | 341.306237644113 | 59.477849641144 | 38.9332345881539 | 25.63552153176 | 38.9846449668077 | 16.4594524894714 | 13.6370241253885 |
| 2018 | 743.019922815326 | 388.869317690333 | 59.69170898797 | 43.5234480607396 | 29.764323469728 | 33.5318188680554 | 16.8131325765349 | 15.4123436055603 |
| 2019 | 861.675657399326 | 373.999257556881 | 76.246216633584 | 52.0682641944574 | 33.814823155152 | 31.09827120131 | 18.859900908698 | 17.1374705799681 |
| 2020 | 993.250122774726 | 369.437314670951 | 80.208366922724 | 57.1068639165034 | 40.404048471744 | 28.8996562281496 | 23.414741687278 | 19.5873426680855 |
The share of renewable energy sources used in the generation of electricity in Ireland has increased from 5% in 1990 to 42% in 2020.
Wind is the main source of renewables used in electricity generation, with its share rising from 0% in 1990 to 36% of the total kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe) used to generate electricity in Ireland in 2020.
Ireland’s share of renewable sources in total electricity generation in 2020 at 39% was 11th highest among EU Member States and close to the EU average of 38%.
Austria had the highest proportion of total electricity generated from renewable sources at 78% and Malta the lowest at 10% in 2020.
| Country | Total electricity generation |
|---|---|
| Austria | 78.204 |
| Sweden | 74.495 |
| Denmark | 65.323 |
| Portugal | 58.033 |
| Croatia | 53.816 |
| Latvia | 53.357 |
| Germany | 44.696 |
| Romania | 43.374 |
| Spain | 42.944 |
| Finland | 39.564 |
| Ireland | 39.055 |
| Italy | 38.081 |
| EU27 | 37.482 |
| Greece | 35.856 |
| Slovenia | 35.095 |
| Estonia | 28.293 |
| Netherlands | 26.407 |
| Belgium | 25.122 |
| France | 24.819 |
| Bulgaria | 23.586 |
| Slovakia | 23.066 |
| Lithuania | 20.166 |
| Poland | 16.237 |
| Czechia | 14.81 |
| Luxembourg | 13.887 |
| Cyprus | 12.041 |
| Hungary | 11.904 |
| Malta | 9.489 |
Renewable energy sources used in transport have grown from 0.1% of total transport energy consumption in 2006 to 10% in 2020.
The national target for renewable energy sources used in transport of 10% by 2020, which was set out in the 2007 Energy White Paper, has been reached.
Ireland’s net imports of fuel in 1990 was 7.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). It peaked in 2008 at 15.1 million toe. By 2020, it had decreased to 9.9 million toe.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by natural gas varied from 0% in 1990 to 34% in 2010. In 2020 it was 29%.
Crude oil and other oil products (such as diesel, gasoline and jet kerosene) accounted for 67% of all Irish net fuel imports in 2020.
The proportion of net fuel imports accounted for by coal products and peat was 2% in 2020 down from 28% in 1990.
