Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien, has welcomed the results of the latest national auction for new onshore wind and solar energy projects as part of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme.

The outcome will see 23 major new renewable energy projects delivered over the next four years, mainly in the east, southeast and midlands of the country.

Included in that are 18 solar farms and five onshore wind developments, which, between them, will produce enough clean electricity for 357,000 homes.

That will be over 200MW of electricity from wind and 860MW from solar – a significant contribution to Ireland’s target of 80% of electricity demand to be met by renewable sources.

The outcome also underscores that solar can compete with onshore wind farms and is now Ireland’s fastest growing renewable electricity source.

Wind Energy Ireland, which represents wind farm developers, said it was delighted to see five wind projects win contracts but expressed disappointment with the size.

Its CEO, Noel Cunniffe said, today’s auction means more clean, affordable and secure power for Irish families and businesses.

“While we’re delighted to see five of our projects win contracts, we had hoped for a bigger auction and to see more projects get over the line.

“Our priority now is to focus on finding an alternative route to market for those unsuccessful projects while preparing for next year’s auction by working with the Government to get more wind farms out of the planning system and with secure grid connections.”

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme operates competitive auctions where developers of wind and solar farms offering to produce and supply renewable electricity to the national electricity grid for a 15-year period at a Government supported price.

The average price achieved on this occasion is €98.81 per megawatt hour of electricity.

This is the amount successful renewable energy providers are guaranteed to be paid, even when the wholesale price of electricity falls below that level.

However, if wholesale prices are higher, the renewable electricity suppliers are required to repay money to electricity customers.

It is a two-way settlement arrangement that provides significant protection to consumers while at the same time ensuring the economic sustainability and attractiveness of the renewable energy projects for developers.

This was the fifth auction to date, and the weighted-average price settled on was similar to that achieved under the last three of these auctions.

To participate in the auction, every bidder had to have planning permissions and electricity grid connection permissions in place and be prepared for their project to be operational and providing electricity to the national grid by 31 December 2029.

On this occasion, there were 40 applicants, but only 33 qualified to make bids.

This included 10 proposed onshore wind farm projects and 23 proposed solar farms.

Out of them, five wind farms and five solar farms made unsuccessful bids.

This left 23 successful bidders, 18 of which were solar farms.

All projects will be obligated to contribute to a Community Benefit Fund.

The minimum contribution will be €2 per megawatt hour of electricity.

This should yield a total of €45 million in community benefits over the next 15 years. That will be €3 million per year of benefits for the communities in which the new renewable energy projects are located.

Minister O’Brien said the renewable energy that will flow from today’s auction will cut carbon emissions, reduce Ireland’s dependence on imported fuels, and generate investment and jobs in communities across the country.

“Accelerating and increasing the deployment of renewable electricity generation, especially onshore wind and solar, is fundamental to meeting our sectoral climate targets.

“July this year also marked a significant milestone for Ireland, as it was the first full month in which coal did not feature in our electricity fuel mix, after its use was discontinued at Moneypoint in June after 40 years.

“The deployment and connection of wind and solar energy generation at pace and at scale to our electricity grid benefits households and business by shielding them from volatile fossil fuel imports using our indigenous natural energy resources”, he said.

The Government is to examine new legislation to address the growing number of Russian “shadow-fleet” vessels passing through Irish-controlled waters.

Department of Defence secretary general Jacqui McCrum said the move was one of a number of measures being taken by her department to counter potential hybrid threats to Irish underwater infrastructure such as gas pipelines and communications cables.

Ms McCrum made the comments at an event held by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), the Dublin-based think tank, examining risks to subsurface infrastructure.

Simon Coveney, the event’s chair and former tánaiste and minister for defence, said 75 per cent of transatlantic cables “come through or very close to” Irish-controlled waters.

More than 80 per cent of gas used in Ireland comes through underwater pipes from Scotland, while there were plans to build enough offshore infrastructure to generate 37 gigawatts of electricity by 2050, he said.

“So this economy, this island and our people, are extremely vulnerable to potential threats to that core infrastructure that surrounds our own,” Mr Coveney said.

Ms McCrum said the “increasingly volatile geopolitical situation” highlighted the vulnerabilities of Irish undersea infrastructure.

“Indeed, as you know, Russian intelligence vessels and vessels of the shadow fleet have been seen in our waters.”

Russia has been using vessels registered in other countries to transport oil in an effort to bypass sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine. These vessels, which have also been accused of damaging undersea cables in EU waters, are known collectively as the shadow fleet.

In July, an Irish Times investigation found a large increase in the number of shadow fleet vessels transiting through Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including some engaged in unusual behaviour such as taking economically inefficient routes or sailing well outside recognised shipping lanes.

Ms McCrum said that, along with the new Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy, she is preparing advice for the attorney general to strengthen legislation in this area.

The current legislation was created “in a different time and the threats are completely different now,” she said.

International legislation is unclear as to what action states can take against falsely flagged vessels in their waters.

Vessels typically have a right of passage through countries’ EEZ. However, some experts argue this is not be valid if a ship is flying a fraudulent flag or failing to comply with safety or environmental requirements.

The secretary general said she is examining how the process of legislative reform can be accelerated and done “quickly and urgently”.

Former Defence Forces Chief of Staff Mark Mellett said Russia’s shadow fleet activity was part of its hybrid activity toolbox and that it operates “in the gaps” of international maritime law.

More needers to be done to tighten up regulations in this area, the retired vice-admiral said.

“It may be a requirement for international institutions to meet and be more robust in the context of how you deal with this,” he said.

Ms McCrum said her department has created a new maritime security unit to lead in this area and that a maritime security strategy is currently being drafted, having completed its public consultation phase.

Work is also ongoing on acquiring sonar technology to allow Naval Service vessels detect what is operating under the sea. She said the procurement process of this technology has been greatly accelerated.

“This capability will be used to detect objects near cables and pipelines in Irish territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone,” she said.

She said the Department was also examining the prospect of using unmanned vessels to monitor Irish waters.

Ms McCrum pointed to comments by the head of the UK Royal Navy that every ship going to sea will have two unmanned vessels on board.

“So we need to look at that,” she said.

The Minster for Finance has insisted there will be no repeat of last year’s once-off cost of living measures, but other permanent supports will be put in place in next month’s Budget.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Budgetary Oversight Committee, Paschal Donohoe said inflation has normalised, although the Government understands that prices have risen.

“Government is fully aware of the impact inflation has had on businesses and households throughout the country over recent years,” he said.

“Inflation has now returned to normal rates, but we are acutely conscious that price levels have risen in recent years, especially for necessities such as food. In this Budget, we will provide cost of living supports that are sustainable and permanent.”

Mr Donohoe told the Committee the economy is resilient, the public finances are in good shape and Modified Domestic Demand which measures activity in the domestic economy grew 4% in the first half of 2025.

However, he said it is not a time for complacency and the rate of growth of current spending has to be moderated. He also spoke the danger of over reliance on corporation tax receipts.

“Ireland must remain a top destination for multinational firms. These corporation tax revenues helped fund Government’s extraordinary response to the pandemic and the cost of living challenge,” he said.

“Nonetheless, I have warned on many occasions about the risks of overreliance on corporation tax. A highly concentrated tax base presents an inherent risk to sustainable public finances.

“Ten companies account for well over half of all corporate tax receipts. A negative shock to these companies would also negatively impact VAT and income tax revenues.”

Mr Donohoe said Budget 2026 is coming at a time of great uncertainty and the disruption of internationally settled trade rules will damage Ireland’s economic growth.

He said, however, the economy is fundamentally resilient.

Budget 2026 will be announced in the Dáil on 7 October by the Mr Donohoe and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services and Reform, Jack Chambers.