Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation Statistics
Statistics and publications on Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland are published by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency statisticians within the Department for the Economy's Analytical Services Division (ASD).
Overview
Statistics on Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland are published in March, June, September and December of each year.
Publication aids reporting on performance against the commitments in the Northern Ireland Energy Strategy ‘Path to Net Zero Energy’ and the Climate Change Act target which is to “ensure that at least 80% of electricity consumption is from renewable sources by 2030”.
The measurement and reporting of Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation moved to a Gross Final Electricity Consumption approach in March 2026, following a user engagement exercise. The statistical publication provides historic trend data back to 2018 using this approach.
Latest results published 3 September 2026
Key points for the 12-month period July 2025 to June 2026:
- The volume of electricity generated from renewable sources in the year to June 2026 (4,431 GWh) was equivalent to 50% of gross final electricity consumption (8,865 GWh), compared to 44% in the previous period (year to June 2025), matching the highest level previously recorded in the series in late 2022/early 2023 (50%).
- Gross Final Electricity Consumption, which comprises generation plus imports minus exports, and is equivalent to total electricity demand, has fallen slowly but steadily over the period from 9,569 GWh at the year to December 2018 to 8,865 GWh in the year to June 2026.
- Focusing specifically on generation, 8,286 GWh of total electricity was generated, of which 4,431 GWh was from renewable sources (53%) and 3,855 GWh (47%) was from non-renewable sources. On the rolling 12-month basis, renewable generation has exceeded non-renewable generation since January 2026, which is a change from the rest of the time series (back to 2018) where non-renewable generation was higher than renewable generation.
- Of the 4,431 GWh of renewable generation, the majority (74%) was from wind in addition to bioenergy (18%), solar (6%), landfill gas (1%) and hydro/tidal generation (1%).
- The balance between electricity imports and exports can vary over time and the difference between them can be positive (more imports than exports) or negative (more exports than imports). In the year to June 2026, Northern Ireland imported more than it exported with net imports of 578 GWh. This can be compared to the year to June 2025 when Northern Ireland imported more than it exported with net imports of 172 GWh.
The full statistical publication can be accessed at:
Next publication
The next Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland publication will be issued in December 2026.
Pre-release access
Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland statistics are circulated to a limited number of pre-release access recipients in line with the Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order (Northern Ireland) 2009.
User engagement
The measurement and reporting of Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation moved to a Gross Final Electricity Consumption approach in March 2026. Further details on these developments including a user engagement paper and a user engagement report which informed these developments are available at the user engagement page.
Further Information and feedback
To enhance users’ experience and improve accessibility this report has been produced in HTML format, using Reproducible Analytical Pipeline (RAP) guidelines.
The content and charts presented in the report aim to improve usability and provide greater interaction with the data. We would be grateful if you could provide any feedback you may have on the publication using the contact details at the bottom of this page, or by completing our feedback form.
Energy ad hoc tables are produced in response to user requests and contain combinations of data that are not available in standard publications.
Contact details
Matthew Hanna
Telephone: 028 9052 9339
Email: energystatistics@economy-ni.gov.uk