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 (DfE) Analytical Services Division (ASD).
Overview
Statistics on Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland are published by NISRA statisticians within DfE’s Analytical Services Division (ASD). The first publication, covering the financial year April 2013 to March 2014, was issued on 25 September 2014.
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”.
Following data development and improvement work, the measurement and reporting of Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation moved in March 2026 to a Gross Final Electricity Consumption approach. Further details on these developments including a user engagement paper and a user engagement report which informed these developments are available here.
The main developments and improvements include:
- more complete coverage of electricity generation with the inclusion of own use generation both renewable and non-renewable;
- the move to a Gross Final Electricity Consumption statistical measure which includes and appropriately treats both electricity import and export data and which addresses measurement issues around losses of electricity;
- the development of a data framework which more comprehensively reflects electricity generation, distribution and use and provides a more effective foundation for responding to future evidential needs; and
- improvement in the comparability of data to that available elsewhere.
Given the development work undertaken and the improvement in coverage, no direct comparisons can be made of these figures with those published prior to March 2026. Historic trend data to 2018 using the improved data and measurement is available within the new report for comparisons over time.
While the new headline figures are not dissimilar in scale to the previous measure published to December 2025, a more noticeable change can be seen with figures for the technology shares of renewable generation. This is due to the addition of figures for own use generation. Renewable bioenergy (biomass and biogas), solar PV, and hydro generators use more of their generation for their own use which can be in excess of 50% of their total generation compared to wind generators who use a small percentage of their generation for own use (around 5%). On that basis, the shares of renewable generation for each renewable technology is more diverse with the new measure.
Publication using the improved data and measurement will continue on a quarterly basis with publication in March, June, September and December of each year.
Latest publication
The latest results show that:
- The volume of electricity generated from renewable sources in the year to March 2026 (4,264 GWh) was equivalent to 48% of gross final electricity consumption (8,818 GWh), compared to 44% in the previous period (year to March 2025).
- 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 in the year to December 2018 to 8,818 GWh in the year to March 2026.
- Focusing specifically on generation, 8,202 GWh of total electricity was generated, of which 4,264 GWh was from renewable sources (52%) and 3,938 GWh (48%) was from non-renewable sources.
- Of the 4,264 GWh of electricity generated from renewable sources, the majority (73%) was from wind, in addition to bioenergy (19%), solar PV (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 March 2026, Northern Ireland imported more than it exported with net imports of 616 GWh. This can be compared to the year to March 2025 when Northern Ireland imported more than it exported with net imports of 90 GWh.
The latest Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland report was published on 4 June 2026 and can be accessed at:
Publication format
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.
Next publication
The next Electricity Consumption and Renewable Generation in Northern Ireland publication will be issued in September 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.
Contact details
Matthew Hanna
Telephone: 028 9052 9339
Email: energystatistics@economy-ni.gov.uk