Energy in Ireland
SEAI's annual publication presents the latest official statistics on energy use in Ireland. View our insights and download the full 2025 report.
Latest energy trends in Ireland
Our annual publication looks at trends in national energy use and at the underlying driving forces, such as the economy and weather, and more recently the impacts of high energy prices. It also examines greenhouse gas emissions from energy use, energy security, cost competitiveness, and our progress towards EU renewable energy targets.
The data provided in this report is a key strand in the evidence base that SEAI provides to support the transition to a carbon neutral society.
Ireland’s national energy-related emissions in 2024 were at their lowest level in over 30 years. Energy-related emissions in 2024 were 30.9 MtCO2eq, down 1.5% on 2023 levels. Energy-related emissions in 2024 were down 16% on 2018-levels, the carbon budget baseline.
Our journey requires effort from everyone, but it will be worth it. From Government delivering policy, supports and investment, to industry, commercial and public sectors being strategic with their energy demand growth and ensuring it is efficient and met with renewables, to each and every one of us supporting renewable and infrastructural projects for the greater good and making energy efficient decisions. We all have a part to play. A just transition and helping those least able to make the necessary changes, must continue to be central to everything we do.
Energy-related Emissions
- Ireland’s national energy-related emissions in 2024 were at their lowest level in over 30 years.
- Energy-related emissions in 2024 were 30.9 MtCO2eq, down 1.5% on 2023-levels.
- Electricity accounted for 22.5% of energy emissions, transport for 37.7%, and heat for 39.8%.
- 2024 electricity emissions were 6.9 MtCO2eq, the lowest on record, down 8.3% on 2023-levels.
- 2024 transport emissions were 11.7 MtCO2eq, down 1.2% on 2023-levels.
- 2024 heat emissions were 12.3 MtCO2eq, up 2.4% on 2023-levels.
- Energy-related emissions in 2024 were down 16% on 2018-levels, the carbon budget baseline.
Renewable Energy
- 14.6% of Ireland’s primary energy was renewable in 2024 – the highest value to date.
- Ireland used 1.31 TWh more renewable energy in 2024 than in 2023.
- Just under three-quarters of renewable energy in 2024 came from wind, biodiesel, and biomass.
- Solar PV generation was up 69% and ambient heat capture from heat-pumps was up 19% in 2024.
- In 2024, Ireland’s RES-Overall result was 16.1%, up from 15.2% in 2023 – the highest value to date.
- Ireland’s RES-Overall result is now above its 2020 16% baseline target, with a 2030 target of 43%.
Transport Energy
- Overall, 93.0% of Ireland’s transport energy came from fossil fuels in 2024.
- Road and air accounted for 75.7% and 21.5% of transport energy demand, respectively.
- Energy demand from private car use increased by 3.2% in 2024.
- Energy demand from HGV road freight increased by 7.9% in 2024.
- Energy demand from both private cars and HGVs in 2024 was higher than pre-COVID 2019-levels.
- 9.0% of energy in road diesel, and 6.0% in road petrol, came from renewable biofuels in 2024.
Electricity Supply
- Wind (41.8%), gas (32.1), and net imports (13.9%) led Ireland’s gross electricity supply in 2024.
- Fossil generation accounted for 45.3% of electricity supply in 2024 - the lowest value to date.
- Ireland’s 2024 RES-Electricity result was 41.3%, up from 40.4% in 2023 – the highest value to date.
- Ireland’s RES-Electricity target for 2030 is 80%.
Electricity Demand
- Electricity demand in Ireland was 32.9 TWh in 2024, up 4.1% on 2023-levels
- Commercial services, which includes the ICT sub-sector, accounted for 41.2% of electricity demand.
- The residential sector accounted for 25.5% of electricity demand in 2024.
- Data centres accounted for 21.2% of all electricity demand in 2024.
- Data centres account for 88.2% of the increase observed in Ireland’s electricity demand since 2015.
Heat Demand
- Heat demand accounted for 35.1% of Ireland's energy demand in 2024.
- Ireland's heat demand in 2024 was 50.6TWh, up 4.7% on 2023-levels.
- The residential (44.1%) and industry (36.5%) sectors accounted for over 80% of heat demand.
- In 2024, 89.8% of heat demand was satisfied using fossil fuels.
- Ireland’s residential heat demand in 2024 was 22.3 TWh, up 6.0% on the previous year.
Energy in Ireland Report
The full report presents the latest national data and trends on energy efficiency and renewable energy in Ireland. It also looks at how these energy trends relate to Government and EU renewable energy targets.
Download the report (opens in a new tab) Download the spreadsheet of charts and data (opens in a new tab)
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