In a recent Government white paper entitled "Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland", the goals for renewable electricity generation were set at 15% of Ireland's electricity consumption by 2010, and 33% by 2020. To compare this goal with recent years, renewable energy made up 6.8% of the electricity supply in 2005, which was up from 5.2% in 2004.

The largest growth in renewable energy contribution in recent years has come in the form of electricity generated from wind power. In order to achieve the Government's renewable energy targets, wind power will continue to play an important role in Ireland's electricity generation.