Here Comes the Sun: Ireland's Solar Scale-Up Proves the Renewable Dream Is Real

There is plenty of hand-wringing about Ireland's slow progress on cutting carbon emissions, but one technology is quietly delivering exactly what was asked of it. Solar energy is on track to make its full contribution to halving national emissions by 2030, and its rise over just a few years has been striking. “The run rate is 1 gigawatt a year in connected solar,” says Ronan Power of industry body Solar Ireland. During the May heatwave, solar supplied a third of the country's electricity needs, at peak providing almost as much power as imported gas.

The numbers tell the story of a technology moving from the margins to the mainstream. Two gigawatts were in the system last year — enough to power around a million homes — and 8GW is set to be installed by the decade's end, of which 2GW would be rooftop, provided planning and grid connection keep pace. Growth in large utility-scale solar is concentrated in the flat, sun-favoured midlands, east and south, where grid capacity and terrain align.

Yet the momentum runs into real obstacles. The grid is not keeping pace with the power being generated, and curtailment — when the system simply cannot absorb the renewable electricity on offer — wastes an average of €1.4 million every day. Solar Ireland argues that already-available technology could optimise the system and cut that waste. Developers feel the pain acutely. Justin Brown, chief executive of Power Capital Renewable Energy, says grid connection is his biggest frustration: projects sit ready to produce but idle, waiting to be plugged in, in what he calls the only business he knows where “a contract is more of a promise” with no penalties for delay.

The build-out has also stirred rural opposition, with recent protests in east Cork, Galway and Wexford over the loss of prime agricultural land, the “industrialisation” of the countryside and safety concerns around battery storage. Campaign group Amass, resisting a large Galway project, insists many of its supporters back renewable energy but want genuine consultation, planning transparency and a proper regulatory framework for battery energy storage systems. Their chairman, Brendan Cronin, argues that questions of food production, land use and democratic participation in planning have become national issues, not isolated local disputes.

The ecological case, however, is strong. Ecologist Padraic Fogarty describes solar as the most benign of renewable technologies — no pollution, no moving parts for birds to collide with, and evidence of benefits for wildflowers, birds and wildlife where panels replace intensive livestock. Even at 8GW, Solar Ireland notes, the country would use just 0.1 per cent of its land. And the old objection to renewables — intermittency — is fading. IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera says the “sun doesn't always shine” argument has been “played against renewables for a long time by lobbyists.” Pairing solar with utility-scale batteries now makes round-the-clock clean power a reality, with solar-plus-storage hybrids already outcompeting new fossil-fuel plants in many regions and bringing Ireland within reach of near-100 per cent renewable electricity.

Why it matters

The solar dream is achievable, and more countries are proving the point. What was once a dream — perhaps even an unrealistic one — is slowly but surely turning into a very real one, with tangible results being achieved. On a positive note, we are very upbeat about a future built entirely on renewables. On a less positive note, we have to pose the question: what excuse are the other EU countries that are lagging behind using to justify their lack of progress?