Solar Ireland: The Next Phase of Ireland’s Energy Transition
– Why building design has become one of Ireland’s most important energy decisions
RONAN POWER, CEO, Solar Ireland, writes that for much of the past decade, Ireland’s energy conversation has centred on one fundamental question: how do we generate enough renewable electricity to meet our climate ambitions while supporting economic growth? It was the right question. Today, however, we face a different one.
Ireland has demonstrated that it can deploy renewable energy at pace. The next phase of the transition is about designing the energy system that allows it to deliver its full value.
As solar deployment accelerates, electricity demand becomes increasingly electrified and new technologies reshape how energy is produced and consumed, the challenge is no longer generation alone. It is ensuring that our buildings, electricity network and supporting infrastructure evolve quickly enough to unlock the full value of that transition.
The buildings being designed today will still be operating well beyond 2050. They will influence not only how efficiently we use energy, but how resilient our electricity system becomes, how attractive Ireland remains for investment and how successfully we deliver a competitive, low-carbon economy.
In many respects, some of Ireland’s most important energy decisions are now being made long before a building is occupied.
Success creates new challenges
Ireland’s progress in solar over the past three years has been remarkable.
By June 2026, connected solar capacity had reached approximately 2.7 GW, representing almost 300% growth since 2023, while almost 190,000 rooftop installations were connected across businesses, public buildings, schools, homes and farms. More recently, solar supplied a record 37.1% of Ireland’s electricity demand at peak daytime output, demonstrating just how rapidly our electricity system is changing.
These achievements are worth celebrating, but they also change the conversation.
Every additional rooftop installation and every new megawatt of renewable generation increases the importance of flexibility, storage, intelligent demand management and a modern electricity network capable of responding to changing patterns of generation and consumption.
The challenge is no longer simply installing more renewable energy. It is designing an energy system capable of making the best possible use of it.
Buildings are becoming strategic energy infrastructure
For decades, buildings were designed around a relatively simple assumption: electricity arrived from the grid, building services distributed it efficiently, and performance was measured largely through energy consumption.
That model is changing. Today’s buildings increasingly generate electricity through rooftop solar, integrate battery storage, support electric vehicle charging, accommodate electrified heating and cooling systems, and use sophisticated controls to optimise energy use.
We often describe buildings as the places where life happens. Increasingly, they are also becoming the places where the energy transition happens.
Commercial offices, manufacturing facilities, schools, hospitals and public buildings are no longer simply electricity consumers. They are becoming strategic energy assets, capable of generating renewable electricity, supporting grid flexibility and strengthening national energy resilience.
The question is no longer whether buildings consume less energy. It is whether they can actively strengthen the energy system around them.
Competitiveness starts with the built environment
Ireland competes internationally for investment, innovation and enterprise. Increasingly, access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity is becoming a competitive advantage.
Businesses are seeking greater certainty around energy costs, while investors are placing increasing emphasis on resilience alongside sustainability. Many of the sectors driving Ireland’s economy require energy infrastructure that is reliable, flexible and capable of supporting long-term growth.
The quality of our built environment therefore has implications far beyond individual developments.
Buildings designed to integrate onsite generation, battery storage, intelligent controls and future electrification will reduce operating costs, improve resilience and strengthen Ireland’s attractiveness as a place to invest and do business. Conversely, buildings designed only to meet today’s minimum requirements risk becoming tomorrow’s retrofit challenge.
Designing for an integrated energy system
A consistent message emerged from Solar Ireland Conference 2026: Ireland’s next challenge is not deploying renewable technologies in isolation, but integrating them into a single, intelligent energy system.
Solar deployment depends on investment in electricity networks. Network performance increasingly depends on flexibility. In turn, flexibility depends on storage, intelligent controls and buildings capable of responding to changing conditions. Each part of the system reinforces the others.
We are already seeing this transition take shape. Battery storage, which traditionally charged overnight when electricity demand was lower, is increasingly charging during daylight hours to capture abundant solar generation. While this may appear to be a relatively small operational change, it reflects a much bigger shift. Renewable generation is beginning to shape the operation of the electricity system itself.
For designers, engineers and developers, this changes the conversation. Rooftop solar, battery storage, electric vehicle infrastructure, heat pumps and intelligent building management systems should no longer be viewed as separate engineering disciplines. Together, they form an integrated energy ecosystem that enables buildings to adapt, respond and create value throughout their lifetime.
Beyond compliance
The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive establishes an important new baseline for building performance and accelerates the integration of renewable energy technologies into the built environment. It is a significant step forward, but compliance should be viewed as the starting point rather than the destination.
The buildings currently being designed will operate through decades of technological change. During that time, Ireland’s electricity system will become more renewable, more decentralised and increasingly electrified.
The question is not whether those changes will happen. The question is whether the buildings we deliver today will be capable of evolving alongside them.
That requires us to think beyond individual technologies and design around integrated energy systems. Decisions about electrical capacity, roof design, digital controls, battery readiness and future flexibility are no longer optional considerations. They are becoming fundamental to delivering buildings that remain efficient, resilient and commercially valuable throughout their lifetime.
Building Ireland’s next energy system
Every generation leaves behind infrastructure that shapes the country’s future.
Previous generations built our transport networks, expanded the electricity grid and invested in the communications infrastructure that underpins today’s economy.
Our generation has the opportunity to deliver something equally significant: an energy system that is cleaner, smarter, more resilient and better equipped to support Ireland’s economic ambitions.
The next phase of the energy transition will not be won only in power stations and substations. It will also be won in plant rooms, roof spaces and design offices across the country.
The buildings we design today will determine not only how efficiently they operate, but how effectively Ireland generates, manages and uses renewable electricity for decades to come.
If we get that right, we will do far more than reduce emissions. We will strengthen energy security, improve competitiveness, support economic growth and create a built environment ready for the opportunities of the decades ahead.