The landmark announcement represents the largest single investment in the country's electricity network in its history.
The investment will be allocated between both network operators with ESB Networks and EirGrid to receive €1.5 billion and €2 billion respectively as Ireland's offshore and onshore capabilities are strengthened to deliver on renewable energy targets, housing needs, and grid resilience through to 2030.
The investment will be vital in Ireland's pursuit of its 2030 climate goals. These targets include the development of 9 GW of onshore wind, 8GW of solar power and 5GW of offshore wind capacity in construction all by 2030; targets will be difficult to achieve within this timeframe but this investment is essential for ultimate delivery.
The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Daragh O'Brien, commented:
"This €3.5 billion investment is about building the energy infrastructure that Ireland needs for the future. It's about ensuring every home and business has a reliable and secure source of electricity, creating thousands of jobs, and making Ireland a more attractive place for international companies to invest and grow.
A modern, resilient electricity grid is the backbone of everything we want to achieve — from powering the 300,000 new homes we've committed to build by 2030, to attracting the foreign investment that creates jobs in communities across Ireland."
This investment ties in with the PR6 process (which we have previously commented on here) that is currently underway. The CRU is inviting stakeholder submissions on the recently released Draft Determination PR6 proposal up to 11 September with a final decision to be reached by December 2025.
The NDP has pledged a total of €275.4 billion to 2030 with the noteworthy investment allocations including:
| Housing | €36 billion |
| Transport: | €22.3 billion (including €2 billion for kickstarting the MetroLink) |
| Health: | €9.3 billion |
| Education: | €7.6 billion |
| Climate, environment and energy: | €5.6 billion (including the €3.5 billion being invested in Ireland's electricity grid) |
The complete NDP Review for 2025 can be accessed here.
Contributed by Alex Needham and Hannah Kelly
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