Ireland has shown a modest increase in the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling purposes, with a 2.3% rise from 2004 to 2021.

Despite this, Ireland still has one of the lowest shares of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling among EU member states, with only 5.2% of its energy consumption coming from renewable sources in 2021.

In comparison, the EU average has seen a significant increase in the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling, with the share of renewable energy in gross final consumption for heating and cooling purposes rising from 11.7% in 2004 to 22.9% in 2021.

This increase was largely due to developments in the industrial sector, services and households, particularly the electrification of heating through the use of heat pumps.

Leaders

Countries such as Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Finland lead the way in the use of renewable energy, with more than 50% to 68.6% of their energy consumption coming from renewable sources in 2021.

In contrast, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium lag behind, with only 5.2%, 7.7%, and 9.2% respectively.