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Natural gas is still the leader by a good margin.
by rithdmc 7mo ago
Natural gas is still the leader by a good margin.
- otherme123 7mo agoLeading is not the same as replacing. See this figure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Ireland#/media/File:Energy_mix_of_Ireland.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Ireland#/media/File:... In 2000, coal was about 20% of the energy mix, gas another 20%, oil about 50%. Wind was 0%. In 2024 coal was about 2%, gas still 20%, oil still 50%, but wind grew to about 15%. It seems that wind actually replaced coal. It is not only logical, but good, that wind first replaced coal (dirtiest), and maybe from now on is will start to replace oil. Only after many decades, or maybe never, gas will be replaced.
- rithdmc 7mo agoI'm not sure where that data comes from. Oil was only around 3% in 2024. https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/electricity https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/electr...
- messe 7mo agoPresumably it's also counting non-electricity energy generation. Road and rail transport still relies heavily on internal combustion engines.
- jerven 7mo agoPrimary energy compared to electricity as energy. The first adds energy used in driving, chemical industry etc. the second is just the amount of electricity generated.
- rithdmc 7mo agoGot it, thanks. So, not for grid electricity, as in this discussion.
- otherme123 7mo agoStill, in the second figure of your link, you can see how gas is more or less stable since the start in 2005, and coal + peat is being slowly replaced almost 1:1 by renewables, mainly wind as hydro is stable and solar is marginal in Ireland.
- rithdmc 7mo agoI don't see how that matters to ops comment, "Just in time for an energy crisis", implying a shift to oil from coal.
- adgjlsfhk1 7mo agoenergy vs electricity. oil is a much bigger part of the energy mix due to chemical manufacturing
- einr 7mo agoNo, it's not? https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/interactive-publications/energy-2025 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/interactive-publications/e... crude oil and petroleum products (37.7%) natural gas (20.4%) renewable energy (19.5%) solid fuels (10.6%) nuclear energy (11.8%) (2023 numbers) So natural gas was just barely more than renewables in 2023, but according to the source below the line was crossed in 2025 and renewables now provide more than all fossil fuels put together: https://electrek.co/2026/01/21/wind-and-solar-overtook-fossil-fuels-across-europe-in-2025/ https://electrek.co/2026/01/21/wind-and-solar-overtook-fossi...
- rithdmc 7mo agoFor those following along at home, it appears enir is (edit: as well as using EU wide data, not Irish data..) including non-electricity generation, or non-grid, energy use. Grid stats available here https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/electricity https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/electr... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47308462 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47308462
- einr 7mo agoYeah, I think I was a little confused by the context of another thread and did not realize this one was about Ireland specifically.