Electricity Grid Review 2025: Ireland

January 1 - December 31, 2024 vs 2025

Data coverage: 366 days (2024), 365 days (2025)

1. Electricity Price (Day-Ahead, EUR/MWh)

Mean 2024

€110.0

Mean 2025

€116.8

+€6.8

Monthly Average Day-Ahead Price

EUR/MWh

20242025

Price-Carbon Correlation

Correlation coefficient: -0.65 (2024), -0.57 (2025). Strong negative correlation - higher renewable generation = lower prices, reflecting the merit order effect.

1.1 Daily Price Extremes

Based on daily average prices

Metric	2024	2025
Highest Daily Avg	€290.8 (Dec 13, 2024)	€287.5 (Nov 25, 2025)
Lowest Daily Avg	€2.4 (Feb 27, 2024)	€-6.0 (Oct 04, 2025)
Negative Price Days	0	1
Negative Price Hours	39	58

1.2 Hourly Price Extremes

Metric	2024	2025
Highest Price	€500.0 (Dec 12, 2024 16:00)	€494.1 (Jan 20, 2025 17:00)
Lowest Price	€-5.0 (Apr 13, 2024 14:00)	€-23.5 (May 25, 2025 10:00)

1.3 Days by Price Range

Based on daily average prices

Range (€/MWh)	2024	2025	Δ
€0-50	14	12	-2
€51-100	123	104	-19
€101-150	191	191	0
€151-200	29	43	+14
€201+	9	15	+6

1.4 Hours by Price Range

Based on hourly prices

Range (€/MWh)	2024	2025	Δ
Negative	39	58	+19
€0-50	466	527	+61
€51-100	3,643	3,149	-494
€101-150	3,403	3,468	+65
€151-200	718	940	+222
€201+	381	535	+154

1.5 Average Price by Hour of Day

2025 Average Price by Hour

€/MWh

1.6 Price Distribution (Hourly)

Price Distribution

Number of hours at each level

20242025

Negative Price Events

58 hours with negative prices across 9 days. Most negative: €-23.5/MWh.

Intraday Price Volatility

Average daily price swing: €111/MWh. Maximum single-day swing was €372/MWh on 2025-11-25 (low: €93, high: €465).

Notable monthly evolutions

⚠️ Jan-Feb 2025: Electricity prices were 73% higher than Jan-Feb 2024

Change: +73% vs 2024

1.7 Multi-Level Price Heatmap

Price Heatmap

€/MWh

114.4 €/MWh yearly avg

hourly range: -24-494

Yearly

Monthly

Daily

Hourly

600

175

-250

2. Load

Load 2024

28.7 TWh

Load 2025

33.3 TWh

+15.9%

Production 2024

28.9 TWh

Production 2025

28.8 TWh

-0.3%

2.1 Monthly Load

Monthly Consumption vs Production

TWh per month

Consumption 2024Consumption 2025Production 2024Production 2025

2.2 Average Load by Hour of Day

4.42.20

00:0006:0012:0018:0023:00

Load Pattern

Peak demand at 17:00 (4.4 GW). Minimum at 04:00 (3.1 GW).

2.3 Weekday vs Weekend

Weekday Average

3.9 GW

Weekend Average

3.5 GW

2.4 Net Load Pattern (Duck Curve)

Net Load Pattern (excl. Solar & Wind)

GW

Solar Integration Challenge

Evening ramp of 1.0 GW from belly (03:00) to evening peak (18:00). This requires flexible dispatchable generation or storage to meet rapidly increasing demand as solar output decreases.

2.5 Seasonal Net Load Patterns

The duck curve shape varies significantly by season due to changes in solar intensity and heating/cooling demand patterns.

Winter (Dec-Feb)

Winter (Dec-Feb) Net Load Pattern

GW

Belly: 1.6 GW @ 04:00 | Peak: 3.1 GW @ 17:00 | Ramp: 1.5 GW

Spring (Mar-May)

Spring (Mar-May) Net Load Pattern

GW

Belly: 1.9 GW @ 03:00 | Peak: 2.8 GW @ 19:00 | Ramp: 0.9 GW

Summer (Jun-Aug)

Summer (Jun-Aug) Net Load Pattern

GW

Belly: 1.8 GW @ 13:00 | Peak: 2.6 GW @ 19:00 | Ramp: 0.8 GW

Fall (Sep-Nov)

Fall (Sep-Nov) Net Load Pattern

GW

Belly: 1.7 GW @ 03:00 | Peak: 2.8 GW @ 17:00 | Ramp: 1.1 GW

Seasonal Comparison

Evening ramps are similar across seasons: winter 1.5 GW, summer 0.8 GW. The grid faces consistent ramping challenges year-round.

2.6 Peak & Minimum Demand Records (2025)

Rank	Highest Load	Date	Lowest Load	Date
1	6.1 GW	2025-01-08 17:00	2.5 GW	2025-05-11 04:00
2	6.0 GW	2025-01-08 18:00	2.5 GW	2025-05-11 03:00
3	6.0 GW	2025-01-08 19:00	2.5 GW	2025-06-02 04:00

3. Production-Based vs Flow-Traced Carbon Intensity (gCO₂eq/kWh)

Key Insight

Production-based carbon intensity is 12.5g higher than flow-traced carbon intensity in 2024 (19.9g in 2025). This means Ireland's imports are cleaner than domestic production, lowering the carbon footprint of consumed electricity.

Production-Based 2024

364.8 g

Production-Based 2025

321.1 g

-43.7

Flow-Traced 2024

352.3 g

Flow-Traced 2025

301.2 g

-51.1

3.1 Monthly Production Mix

Production Mix by Month

GWh per month by source

2024: left bars2025: right bars

Nuclear

Hydro

Wind

Solar

Biomass

Gas

Coal

Oil

Hydro Storage

Battery

3.2 Production Mix (Domestic Generation)

2024 Production

46%

39%

9%

2025 Production

48%

39%

4%

3.3 Flow-Traced Power Mix

2024 Flow-Traced

44%

39%

8%

2025 Flow-Traced

45%

38%

Nuclear

Hydro

Wind

Solar

Biomass

Gas

Coal

Oil

Hydro Storage

Battery

3.4 Import/Export Impact on Mix

Ireland produces no nuclear power locally, but ~3% of consumed electricity comes from nuclear imports.

3.5 Power Mix Comparison

Production vs Flow-Traced consumption by source

Source	Prod 2024	Flow-traced 2024	Prod 2025	Flow-traced 2025
Gas	45.5%	44.1%	48.1% (+2.6pp)	45.4% (+1.3pp)
Wind	38.6%	38.8%	39.4% (+0.8pp)	38.0% (-0.8pp)
Coal	8.9%	8.4%	4.1% (-4.8pp)	3.6% (-4.8pp)
Biomass	2.3%	2.5%	2.5% (+0.2pp)	3.3% (+0.8pp)
Hydro	2.5%	2.7%	2.6% (+0.1pp)	3.0% (+0.3pp)
Solar	0.0%	0.3%	1.9% (+1.9pp)	2.9% (+2.6pp)
Nuclear	0.0%	1.0%	0.0% (+0.0pp)	2.7% (+1.7pp)
Oil	2.2%	2.1%	1.3% (-0.9pp)	1.1% (-1.0pp)

3.6 Key Trend

Gas Dominance (Flow-Traced)

Ireland's electricity consumption is dominated by ~45.4% gas. Solar saw the biggest growth from 0.3% to 2.9%.

4. Cross-Border Electricity Flows

Total Exports 2025

0.31 TWh

-80.0%

Total Imports 2025

4.81 TWh

+241.1%

Net Position 2025

-4.50 TWh

Ireland: Net Electricity Importer

Ireland imported a net 4.50 TWh in 2025.

4.1 2025 Gross Exports (Ireland → Neighbor)

Total electricity exported to each country — with average carbon intensity

0.59 TWh

212g

4.2 2025 Gross Imports (Neighbor → Ireland)

Total electricity imported from each country — with average carbon intensity

9.61 TWh

174g

4.3 Net Position by Neighbor (2025)

Neighbor	Net (TWh)	Direction
GB	-9.02	Net Importer

Positive = Ireland is net exporter to that neighbor. Negative = Ireland is net importer from that neighbor.

4.4 Flow Pattern by Hour of Day

Cross-Border Flow Pattern by Hour

MW (positive = export, negative = import)

Net ExportNet Import

Cross-Border Flow Timing

Peak imports at 09:00 (0.6 GW avg).

5. Carbon Intensity (gCO₂eq/kWh)

Mean 2024

352.3 g

Mean 2025

301.2 g

-51.1

Monthly Average Carbon Intensity

gCO₂eq/kWh (flow-traced)

20242025

5.1 Daily Records

Metric	2024	2025
Lowest Carbon Intensity	126.3 g (Dec 21, 2024)	122.5 g (Feb 23, 2025)
Lowest Fossil %	17.7% (Dec 21, 2024)	17.7% (Feb 23, 2025)
Highest Carbon Intensity	568.6 g (Jan 12, 2024)	547.1 g (Jan 20, 2025)
Highest Fossil %	92.3% (Jul 14, 2024)	84.9% (Jan 20, 2025)

5.2 Hourly Records

Metric	2024	2025
Lowest Carbon Intensity	113.4 g (Dec 21, 2024 03:00)	104.5 g (Feb 23, 2025 03:00)
Highest Carbon Intensity	592.0 g (Jun 12, 2024 07:00)	574.0 g (Jan 20, 2025 07:00)

5.3 Days Below Thresholds

Threshold	2024	2025	Δ
< 100 gCO₂eq/kWh	0	0	0
< 200 gCO₂eq/kWh	37	75	+38
< 300 gCO₂eq/kWh	114	174	+60

5.4 Hours Below Thresholds

Threshold	2024	2025	Δ
< 100 gCO₂eq/kWh	0	0	0
< 200 gCO₂eq/kWh	1,318	2,244	+926
< 300 gCO₂eq/kWh	3,051	4,301	+1250

5.5 Average Carbon Intensity by Hour of Day

2025 Average Carbon Intensity by Hour

gCO₂eq/kWh

5.6 Seasonal Carbon Intensity Patterns

Carbon intensity daily patterns shift with seasonal changes in renewable generation and electricity demand.

Winter (Dec-Feb)

Winter (Dec-Feb) Carbon Intensity

gCO₂eq/kWh

Peak: 323 g @ 17:00 | Trough: 248 g @ 02:00 | Spread: 75 g

Spring (Mar-May)

Spring (Mar-May) Carbon Intensity

gCO₂eq/kWh

Peak: 381 g @ 18:00 | Trough: 333 g @ 02:00 | Spread: 48 g

Summer (Jun-Aug)

Summer (Jun-Aug) Carbon Intensity

gCO₂eq/kWh

Peak: 334 g @ 20:00 | Trough: 243 g @ 13:00 | Spread: 91 g

Fall (Sep-Nov)

Fall (Sep-Nov) Carbon Intensity

gCO₂eq/kWh

Peak: 295 g @ 17:00 | Trough: 242 g @ 13:00 | Spread: 53 g

Seasonal Comparison

Carbon intensity patterns are relatively consistent across seasons, with similar peak and trough values. Scheduling flexible loads during seasonal low-carbon windows maximizes emission reductions.

5.7 Carbon Intensity Distribution (Hourly)

Carbon Intensity Distribution

Number of hours at each level

20242025

Notable monthly evolutions

ℹ️ Jun 2025: Carbon intensity was 25% lower in Jun

Change: -25% vs Jun 2024

ℹ️ Jul 2025: Carbon intensity was 26% lower in Jul

Change: -26% vs Jul 2024

ℹ️ Sep 2025: Carbon intensity was 32% lower in Sep

Change: -32% vs Sep 2024

ℹ️ Oct 2025: Carbon intensity was 24% lower in Oct

Change: -24% vs Oct 2024

ℹ️ Nov 2025: Carbon intensity was 30% lower in Nov

Change: -30% vs Nov 2024

Golden Hours

1,376 hours with both low price (<€88/MWh) and low carbon intensity (<197 gCO₂eq/kWh).

5.8 Multi-Level Carbon Intensity Heatmap

Carbon Intensity Heatmap

gCO₂eq/kWh

301.2 gCO₂eq/kWh yearly avg

hourly range: 105-574

Yearly

Monthly

Daily

Hourly

1200

600

0

6. Renewable & Carbon-Free Energy (Flow-Traced)

Includes electricity exchanged with neighboring grids

Renewable 2024

44.3%

Renewable 2025

47.0%

+2.7pp

Carbon-Free 2024

45.3%

Carbon-Free 2025

49.7%

+4.4pp

Monthly Carbon-Free Share

% of consumption (renewable + nuclear)

20242025

6.1 Days Above Thresholds

Days with carbon-free share above threshold

Threshold	2024	2025	Δ
≥50% carbon-free	136	157	+21
≥60% carbon-free	79	106	+27
≥70% carbon-free	37	39	+2

6.2 Hours Above Thresholds

Hours with carbon-free share above threshold

Threshold	2024	2025	Δ
≥50% carbon-free	3,320	3,887	+567
≥60% carbon-free	2,247	2,791	+544
≥70% carbon-free	1,294	1,546	+252

6.3 Multi-Level Renewable % Heatmap

Renewable % Heatmap

47.0 % yearly avg

hourly range: 9-85

Yearly

Monthly

Daily

Hourly

100

50

0