Photo owned by cambalache (cc)
Forget your wind power, forget your wave power and forget even you solar power. Researchers in France have developed the ultimate power supply for Ireland. While most renewable energies have the problem of the conditions that produce the energy ie wind or sunlight or not always there this source does not have to worry about that.

Scientists from CEA/Leti-Minatec, an R&D institute in Grenoble, France, specializing in microelectronics, have recently developed a system that recovers the vibration energy from a piezoelectric structure impacted by a falling raindrop.

Yes people there is now rain power. Using a sheet of material (Polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF if you must know) that when the rain drops hitting the surface cause the material to vibrate (Thinkof how a trampoline vibrates when you jump on it just on a far smaller scale) and this produces electrictity.

Alas before you see Irelands energy problems solved it produces very small amounts of electricty. A strip of 10cm long can produce upto 12 milliwatts not enough for powering anything really. But useful as a rain sensor.