About this report:
This publication presents information on Renewable Electricity Generation for Northern Ireland. It details information on the percentage of metered electricity consumption in Northern Ireland generated from metered renewable sources as well as information on the type of renewable generation. This publication aids reporting on performance against the commitments in the Northern Ireland Energy Strategy - Path to Net Zero Energy and the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 target which is to “ensure that at least 80% of electricity consumption is from renewable sources by 2030.”

Key points:
For the 12 month period July 2023 to June 2024:

• 45.8% of total metered electricity consumption in Northern Ireland was generated from metered renewable sources located in Northern Ireland. This represents an increase of 0.3 percentage points on the previous 12 month period (July 2022 to June 2023).

• 7,244 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of total electricity was consumed in Northern Ireland. Over the same period, some 3,319 GWh was generated from renewable sources located in Northern Ireland.

• 82.3% of all renewable electricity generated within Northern Ireland was generated from wind. This compares to 83.2% for the previous 12 month period (July 2022 to June 2023).


1. Electricity Consumption from Renewable Sources - Rolling 12 month average

For the 12 month period July 2023 to June 2024, 45.8% of total electricity consumption in Northern Ireland was generated from renewable sources. This represents an increase of 0.3 percentage points on the previous 12 month period (July 2022 to June 2023).


Figure 1: Indigenous renewable electricity generation as a percentage of electricity consumption in Northern Ireland has increased from 2014 although broadly stabilised in recent years

Rolling 12 month average of indigenous renewable electricity generation as a percentage of electricity consumption in Northern Ireland from June 2014 to June 2024


Wind generation, as shown in Figure 4 below, accounts for the majority of renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland. When wind speeds are significantly above average or significantly below average (which occurred in 2021), this can therefore have a marked effect on the renewable proportion.


2. Electricity Consumption from Renewable Sources - Monthly data

Renewable electricity generation can vary markedly from month to month. This variation is due to factors such as weather and also new renewable generation facilities coming on line at various points. The rolling 12 month average as shown in Figure 1 above helps to take account of monthly variations to provide a better measure of the underlying trend.


Figure 2: Renewable electricity generation varies month to month

Monthly indigenous renewable electricity generation as a percentage of electricity consumption in Northern Ireland from June 2014 to June 2024


In June 2024, 42.2% of total electricity consumption in Northern Ireland was generated from renewable sources located in Northern Ireland.

Monthly renewable generation and electricity consumption figures can also be downloaded from Figure 2 above.


3. Volume generated and consumed - Rolling 12 month volume (GWh)

For the 12 month period ending June 2024, 7,244 GWh of electricity was consumed in Northern Ireland. Over the same period, wind renewable generation was 2,731 GWh, with non-wind renewable generation contributing another 588 GWh giving a total of 3,319 GWh of renewable generation in Northern Ireland.


Figure 3: Renewable electricity generation and electricity consumption volumes in Northern Ireland

Data spanning June 2014 to June 2024 showing the rolling 12 month volumes of total electricity consumption, total indigenous renewable electricity generation, total wind generation, and renewable generation from non-wind sources


The chart highlights that, over the 10 year period shown, total electricity consumption in Northern Ireland has fallen by 11.2% (from 8,162 GWh for the 12 month period ending June 2014 to 7,244 GWh for the 12 month period ending June 2024) while total renewable generation has increased by 115.6% over the same period (from 1,539 GWh for the 12 month period ending June 2014 to 3,319 GWh for the 12 month period ending June 2024).

The volume of non-wind renewable generation has remained relatively stable in recent years with 588 GWh generated in the 12 months ending June 2024.


4. Renewable Generation by Type of Generation

Figure 4: Most renewable electricity generated within Northern Ireland comes from wind sources

Percentage contribution by generation type of total renewable electricity generation for the period July 2023 to June 2024


Between July 2023 and June 2024, 82.3% of renewable electricity generation came from wind sources, with the remaining 17.7% being generated by a number of other sources, including biogas, biomass, solar pv, and landfill gas.


5. Technical and background notes

Electricity generation and distribution in Northern Ireland

The electricity system consists of the following distinct businesses: generation, transmission, distribution and supply. Generation is provided by private sector companies who own the major power stations and by other generators, such as wind farms. Northern Ireland also has interconnectors between the Scottish and Republic of Ireland grids through which electricity can be imported and exported.

Northern Ireland Networks Ltd (NIE Networks, part of the ESB Group) owns the transmission and distribution network and operates the distribution network, which transports electricity to around 920,000 customer connections. The System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) operates the transmission network. Electricity suppliers buy electricity and sell it to customers. Business and domestic consumers in Northern Ireland can choose from a number of private sector electricity suppliers to meet their individual electricity requirements.

Data Sources and Data Quality

The source of the data contained in this release are figures compiled by NIE Networks. Of this data, part is supplied to NIE Networks by SONI.

The information presented in this bulletin has been validated and quality assured by NIE Networks prior to provision to DfE. Following receipt, DfE perform checks to verify that information is consistent both within and across returns. Trend analyses are used to monitor annual variations and emerging trends. Any queries arising from these checks are presented to NIE Networks for clarification and if required, returns may be amended and/or re-submitted. Monthly data received from NIE Networks may be subject to revision with any revisions incorporated into future publications.

This publication is an official statistic. More information on this type of statistic can be found on the UK Statistics Authority webpages.

Renewable Electricity Generation

The monthly renewable electricity generation data is derived by aggregating output from renewable electricity generators physically located in Northern Ireland and who are connected to the transmission and distribution network using a combination of data held by NIE Networks and SONI. The renewable electricity generation data details the total amount of renewable electricity generated by such generators in Northern Ireland, by type of generation, for each month.

Electricity consumption

Figures for consumption of electricity used in this bulletin are calculated by NIE Networks from data on actual and estimated meter readings across both domestic and non-domestic sectors regardless of where the electricity was generated (i.e. it will also include consumption of any imported electricity). Transmission and distribution losses are not included in consumption calculations.

Other Renewable Generation – Autogeneration, Microgeneration and Non-Export Generating Stations

Some forms of renewable generation are not covered by the data contained in this report. Due to their particular circumstances, neither NIE Networks nor SONI have information on the electricity generated by some renewable generators. These include autogenerators (businesses who generate electricity primarily for their own use, and (possibly) sell any surplus to the Public Distribution System), microgenerators (defined here as all those generators with a Declared Net Capacity (DNC) of 50kW or less) and a small number of generating stations that are unable to export electricity to the grid (non-export stations where electricity generated is either consumed on-site or provided to a third party by a private wire network).

However, Ofgem has provided an estimate of the extent of renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland from microgeneration and non-export generating stations from their Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) register. Assuming that the vast majority of these generators are accredited to the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) scheme and are therefore receiving ROCs for their renewable generation, this would represent a very good estimate of the volume of renewable electricity from microgeneration and non-export generation in Northern Ireland. However, the NIRO closed to all technologies on 31 March 2017, with exceptions in the form of grace periods that have now ended, and therefore some microgenerators and non-export generating stations may not be accredited to the NIRO and would not be included in the Ofgem figures.

The most recent 12 month period for which microgeneration data is available is for April 2023 to March 2024. During this period an estimated 80.8 GWh of renewable electricity was produced by microgenerators in Northern Ireland. This figure is the total measured generation for April 2023 to March 2024 that Ofgem have issued ROCs for. Data for some microgenerators may still be undergoing processing or may not have been submitted and such returns are therefore not included in the figure. A further 61.3 GWh of renewable electricity was produced by non-export generators (giving a total of 142.1 GWh of renewable generation from these sources). Over the same period, renewable electricity generation as sourced from NIE and SONI was 3,301.7 GWh. Therefore, for the 12 month period April 2023 to March 2024, microgeneration and non-export generation as sourced from the ROC register was equivalent to 4.3% of the renewable generation volume total as sourced from NIE and SONI. Please note, data is from accredited stations only, therefore actual generation from all stations unable to export renewable electricity to the grid may be higher than indicated. Comparable figures for the period April 2022 to March 2023 are 80.5 GWh of renewable electricity produced by microgenerators in Northern Ireland and 70.9 GWh of renewable electricity produced by non-export generators.

It is also worth noting that microgenerators will consume varying levels of the electricity they generate, with excess generation ‘spilling’ onto the grid. We have no data to indicate how much of the electricity generated by microgenerators is consumed on-site or the extent of any excess sent to the grid.

The data presented here represents the minimum amount of renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland.


Contact Details and Further Information


The next update to this report will be issued 5 December 2024

For further details on any of these statistics, or to provide feedback, contact:
Michelle Duffy (Tel: 028 90 529915)

All media enquiries should be made to the Department’s Press Office:
(Tel: 028 9052 9604)

The Energy in Northern Ireland report provides a broad overview of statistics and information relating to energy in Northern Ireland

This publication is produced by Statistics Information, Analysis & Research Branch, Analytical Services Division, Department for the Economy

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.