Ireland is still very reliant on imported fossil fuels despite more energy coming from renewable sources, according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)’s latest energy security report.
Last year, just over 78% of the country’s energy requirements were met by imported fossil fuels, well above the European Union average of 57%.
This made Ireland’s requirements the fourth highest in EU.
Oil products fuelled almost half (48.9%) of Ireland’s total primary energy requirements, leaving the country exposed to geopolitical risks on international markets.
“While we are making some progress on renewables – with solar in particular continuing its remarkable growth, Ireland is still too reliant on imported fossil fuels, leaving our economy vulnerable to events outside of our control,” SEAI CEO William Walsh said.
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“We’ve seen in recent months how quickly sharp increases in global oil and gas prices can feed into our home heating bills, transport costs and overheads for business.”
Most energy imports (over 55%) came from the UK, with the US contributing 16.9% and the EU making up 16.2%.
Oil and natural gas made up more than three quarters of Ireland’s energy needs last year.
All of the oil and more than 82% of the gas were imported.
Growth in renewables
Renewable energy contributed 15.9% of energy needs in 2025, up 6.8% from the previous year.
The big growth was in Solar PV, which generated 1.65 terawatt hours – 50% more than in 2024 and 150% more than in 2023.
The growth in wind generation, Ireland’s largest renewable energy source, was more modest, up just over 3%.
Installed capacity last year was 5.1GW, well below the Climate Plan 2025 target of 6GW.
The transport and electricity sectors both exceeded their emissions ceilings for the 2021-2025 carbon budget period although emissions from both sectors fell last year.
Overall energy-related emissions fell last year to below 30 megatons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO₂eq) for the first time since records began.
Energy-related emissions last year were 19% below 2018 levels, the baseline year for the 2030 target of a 51% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions.
The trend aligns with a 2.7% annual fall in emissions, achieved despite a rising population and increasing vehicle numbers.
However, meeting the target set for the first carbon budget period of 2021-2025 would have required annual reductions to average 4.8%.
