National energy balance

SEAI's National Energy Balance is the definitive source of data for the supply, transformation, and demand of energy in Ireland. It is produced by SEAI's Energy Statistics Team and is based on the direct surveying of hundreds of energy suppliers, as well as public administrative data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), Revenue Commissioners, and others.

On 8th September 2025, SEAI published the Full National Energy Balance for 2024.

Trends in Energy-Related Emissions

• Ireland's energy related emissions in 2024 were down 1.5% on 2023, and are at their lowest level in over 30 years.
• Energy-related emissions have fallen each year for the last 3 years, and are down 11.6% on 2021-levels.
• Electricity sector emissions in 2024 were down 8.1% on 2023.
• National transport sector emissions in 2024 were down 1.3% on 2023.
• SEAI estimates that emissions from heating, i.e. energy-related emissions not in the electricity or transport sectors, were up 2.4% in 2024.

Trends in Final Energy Consumption

Final energy consumption is the energy used by the final consuming sectors of industry, transport, residential, services, agriculture and fisheries. It excludes the energy consumed or lost within the sector: electricity generation, oil refining, transmission losses etc.

• Ireland’s total final energy consumption increased by 2.3% in 2024.
• In 2024, transport was the largest energy user, accounting for 42.3% of total final energy consumption. This was followed by the residential sector (21.3%), industry (17.7%), services (16.4%), agriculture and forestry (2.1%), and fisheries (0.2%).
• The services sector saw the largest increase in final energy consumption (+5.8%) in 2024 compared to 2023.
• Final energy consumption in the residential sector increased by 5.3% in 2024.
• Final energy consumption in the industry sector increased by 2.2% in 2024.
• Final energy consumption in transport sector decreased by 0.4% in 2024 ^[1].

^[1] The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment is currently conducting a review of 2024 data provided to it by oil suppliers. Subject to the outcome of this review, SEAI may revise the published energy statistics pertaining to oil consumption within the transport sector for 2024.

Trends in Energy Supply

Energy supply refers to the quantities of energy that entered Ireland’s economy necessary to satisfy all uses, including energy used to transform from one energy type to another (such as burning fossil fuel to generate electricity) and energy consumed by the final consumer.

• Ireland's overall energy requirement in 2024 was up 2.3%, with increases in oil, natural gas, renewables, and electricity.
• Despite drops in coal and peat, Ireland's overall use of fossil fuels increased by 0.7% in 2024.
• Fossil fuels continue to account for over four-fifths (81.3%) of Ireland's energy supply.
• Almost half (48.8%) of Ireland's energy comes from imported petroleum, either in the form of crude oil or refined products.
• Ireland's energy import dependency was 79.6% in 2024, up from 78.3% in 2023 (for comparison, the EU average for 2023 was 58.3%).
• Ireland imported 100% of its oil, 79.5% of its gas, and 14.0% of its electricity in 2024.

Trends in Electricity Supply

• In 2024, Ireland required a 4.2% increase in electricity supply relative to 2023.
• 13.9% of Ireland’s gross electricity supply was imported across international interconnectors in 2024, up from 9.4% in 2023.
• After electricity generation from natural gas (42%) and wind (32%), net imports of electricity across interconnectors were the third largest source of electricity supply in 2024.

Trends in Renewable Energy Supply

• Renewable energy supplied 14.6% of Ireland's energy requirements, up slightly from 14.0% in 2023.
• 2024 saw increases in biomass, bioliquids, solar-PV, and ambient heat from heat-pumps, but drops in wind and hydro generation.
• Electricity generation from solar-PV was up by 69% in 2024.
• Renewable ambient heat from heat-pumps was up by 19% in 2024.

Renewable Energy Share

The following are the provisional values for the share of renewable energy in Ireland's gross final consumption of energy (RES) in 2024, calculated from the data contained in the National Energy Balance and other associated data, in accordance with the EU's recast Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and associated guidance from the European Commission (Eurostat):

• Overall share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption (RES-overall) was 16.0%, up from 15.2% in 2023.
• Share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of electricity (RES-E) was 41.4%, up from 40.4% in 2023.
• Share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy in heating and cooling (RES-H) was 7.9%, up from 7.7% in 2023.
• Share of energy from renewable sources in final consumption of energy the transport sector (RES-T) was 8.6%, up from 7.6% in 2023.

The above values are provisional based on the latest available data, SEAI will complete reporting of Ireland’s 2024 RES data to Eurostat in early November 2025.