Wind energy delivered approximately a third of Ireland’s electricity needs over the last 10 months, the latest figures from Wind Energy Ireland show.
The trade association’s monthly report showed that wind energy provided 35 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in October, the third highest monthly level on record, while solar power and other renewables accounted for 4 per cent.
Irish wind farms have generated nearly a third of the country’s electricity over the first 10 months of the year, it said.
However, the group highlighted what it described as the increasing amount of wasted energy “with record levels of constraints on the electricity grid restricting the amount of power Irish wind farms are allowed to provide”.
It pointed out that despite 2023 being a record year for the amount of electricity produced by wind at 13,725 gigawatt-hours (GWh), this figure is expected to fall in 2024. This is due to wind energy being lost because the electricity grid being unable to carry it.
When this happens, wind farms are instructed to reduce the amount of power they produce or shut down entirely, which means using more fossil fuels instead of clean energy.
“Over the first nine months of the year, 14 per cent of wind energy production was lost because of challenges with the transmission network,” Justin Moran, director of external affairs at Wind Energy Ireland, said.
“To overcome this challenge, we want to see EirGrid get support right across Irish society for its plans to reinforce our transmission system, and it is welcome to see some political parties highlighting in their election manifestos their commitment to reinforcing our electricity grid,” he said.
“We are fortunate in Ireland to have natural resources like wind that can generate more affordable, clean electricity to power our local communities,” Mr Moran said.
“While our wind farms performed well last month, this year is on track to be the worst on record for the amount of wind energy wasted,” he said.
The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during October was €123.45, down slightly from €125.53 in October 2023, the group’s report showed.
Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall 26 per cent to €91.53 per megawatt-hour and rise to €176.52 on days when the State was forced to rely on traditional fossil fuels.
A county-by-county breakdown showed Kerry maintained its lead position, producing more wind power than any other county (131 GWh) in October. It was followed by Cork (130 GWh), Mayo (86 GWh), Galway (83 GWh) and Tipperary (75 GWh). Together, the top three counties produced more than a quarter of Ireland’s wind power last month.
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