ESRI finds homeowners more willing to switch to biofuels than heat pumps

The ESRI published Working Paper 843 on 10 September, a survey experiment with a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 Irish homeowners on gas or oil boilers. Every respondent evaluated both a drop-in biofuel option, HVO or biomethane, and a heat pump, with the order of exposure randomised. Awareness of biofuels was low and lowest for biomethane. Initial willingness to switch was high and driven mainly by ease of switching, then fell sharply once respondents learned about higher fuel costs and sustainability concerns. Heat pump evaluations fell too, most steeply after building fabric retrofit requirements were disclosed.

Final willingness to switch remained substantially higher for biofuels than for heat pumps. Exposure to the biofuel option did not reduce subsequent willingness to adopt a heat pump, with a point estimate that was in fact positive, so the authors find no evidence of household-level carbon lock-in.

Renewables reach 29% of the August fuel mix as solar sets two new peaks

EirGrid provisional data published on 9 September put renewables at 29% of electricity in August. Grid-scale solar supplied 7.7% of the month’s fuel mix, following 8.2% in June and 9.4% in July. Two new grid-scale solar peaks were recorded, 1.25 GW at 12.41pm on Tuesday 11 August and 1.3 GW at 11.43am on Monday 24 August, against the previous high of 1.22 GW set in May. Wind remained the largest renewable contributor at 18% and 498 GWh, gas accounted for 42%, imports 26%, and system demand was 2,796 GWh against 2,744 GWh in July.

Wind Energy Ireland opens a public campaign on hybrid connections

Wind Energy Ireland launched a campaign action on its Build Our Grid platform on 15 September, supported by Solar Ireland and Energy Storage Ireland, asking the public to email their TDs on three grid connection asks. Faster movement on hybrid connections, shorter waiting times for sharing Maximum Export Capacity, and arrangements that let batteries be co-located with renewable generation. Director of External Affairs Justin Moran said the aim is to make hybrid connection policy a political issue and to show how batteries can form part of the solution.

How it works. A hybrid connection lets two technologies, typically wind or solar plus a battery, share one grid connection and one Maximum Export Capacity, so the second asset uses headroom the first leaves unused instead of waiting on a connection offer of its own.

CRU has made no decision on interruptible gas connections above 50 MWth

The CRU confirmed on 7 September that it has not decided on its proposal to make new gas connections interruptible for large industrial customers with peak hourly demand above 50 MWth, and is still weighing stakeholder submissions. Customers accepting an interruptible connection would take a network tariff discount reflecting the probability of interruption, at a level not yet set, and would power down, defer energy-intensive operations or switch fuel, most likely to diesel, when the system comes under pressure. Gas-fired generators in the Single Electricity Market would be exempt.

CRU analysis of 17 planned data centre connection applications puts their combined peak demand at the equivalent of six 500 MWe combined cycle gas turbines, or around 2.6 million homes. The CRU noted that Gas Networks Ireland has statutory obligations under the Gas Act 1976 to provide third-party access and cannot refuse eligible industrial connection applications on the basis of future capacity constraints.

One in seven electricity customers behind on their bills

The latest Commission for Regulation of Utilities arrears report, covered on 11 September, put 323,559 domestic electricity accounts in arrears, roughly one in seven, with more than 511,000 households behind on electricity or gas and average electricity arrears of €509. That extends a run climbing through 2026, from 318,735 accounts at the end of March to 322,298 in April and 328,273 in May.

Energia and Bord Gáis Energy add to the autumn price round

Energia announced an increase to gas and electricity prices on 11 September, citing global wholesale volatility and increased network charges, affecting around 290,000 customers. Bord Gáis Energy confirmed increases the previous day for around 400,000 electricity customers. Reporting on 10 and 11 September put roughly 900,000 households facing announced increases across suppliers.

Government rules out universal energy credits in Budget 2027

Minister for Finance Jack Chambers said on 7 September that there is no capacity for energy credits for every household in Budget 2027, and that any income tax cuts will be modest. The statement closes off the option the Taoiseach left open in No. 017 when he named energy affordability a Budget focus, and leaves targeted measures as the live route. Government has committed to extending fuel excise cuts into the winter and is preparing a wider energy supports package, while a Red C poll published on 13 September found a large majority would support further fuel protests if energy prices rise.

Climate Change Advisory Council calls for farm carbon pricing within 18 months

The Climate Change Advisory Council published its annual review on 9 September, urging Government to examine carbon pricing for agriculture within 18 months and naming forestry, biomethane and horticulture as areas needing further action. The council said the 25% agriculture emissions reduction target remains achievable if the diversification measures already identified in the Climate Action Plan are delivered in full. On forestry it warned that Ireland will fall well short of the 8,000 hectares a year implied by the plan.

Wicklow County Council faces a 19 October deadline under EU fast-track rules

Wicklow County Council is working to a firm 19 October deadline to decide a major renewable energy grid connection, the first significant Irish test of the accelerated permitting deadlines carried into national law from the revised Renewable Energy Directive. The regime sets binding decision windows on consenting authorities rather than leaving timelines to local discretion.

CSO puts electric at 27% of new private cars licensed to end-August

Central Statistics Office figures published on 10 September show battery electric vehicles took 27% of new private cars licensed from January to August 2026, against 18% in the same period of 2025. The CSO licensing series runs on a different basis to the SIMI registration data carried in No. 017, which put battery electric at 26.3% of the new car market by engine type, so the two figures should not be read as a revision of one another. New tractor licensing rose 14% over the same period.

The DoneDeal Cars Price Index published on 8 September shows used electric car prices up 2% in the year to the first half of 2026, rising faster than petrol, diesel and hybrid equivalents. Used electric cars no longer carry a price discount against diesel or hybrid in the Irish second-hand market, which the index attributes to constrained supply meeting stronger demand.

Tesla sets out European Semi specifications at Hannover

Tesla confirmed on 14 September that it will unveil European specifications and launch details for the Semi at IAA Transportation in Hannover, which runs from 15 to 20 September, without committing to an on-sale or delivery date. The configuration listed on Tesla’s UK site is around 550 km of range at a claimed 1.0 kWh per km, a 40-tonne gross combination weight, 9,100 kg kerb weight, three rear-axle motors, drive power up to 800 kW and Megawatt Charging System compatibility. Volume production began in Nevada in April with a stated target of up to 50,000 units a year.

Irish read-across. The binding constraint for Irish hauliers is not the truck. Charging a 548 kWh battery at megawatt power turns every depot into a large new grid connection application, which lands in the same queue as the hybrid and storage connections Wind Energy Ireland is campaigning on.

Renewables supplied 53% of Northern Ireland electricity

The Irish Farmers Journal reported on 7 September that renewable sources accounted for 53% of Northern Ireland’s electricity, with wind at 74% of renewable generation, followed by bioenergy at 18%, solar at 6%, and landfill gas and hydro or tidal at 1% each. Separately, the Renewable Electricity Generation Bill passed second stage at Stormont on 9 September, the vehicle Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is using to set a statutory framework for renewable deployment in the North.