Wind farms generated almost one-third of Ireland’s electricity in the first seven months of the year, down slightly on the same period in 2023 amid a recent spell of warm weather, Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) has said.
The group, which represents companies in the wind power sector, said wind farms generated 656 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in July, a 34 per cent decline compared with the same month last year, making it the third best July for wind power on record.
Published on Monday, the figures reveal that wind met 22 per cent of the Republic’s electricity demand in the month, down from 33 per cent from July 2023, a record-breaking month due largely to unsettled weather. In the first seven months of the year, wind accounted for 32 per cent of total electricity production, WEI said.
Solar power and other renewables, meanwhile, accounted for 7 per cent of total electricity generated last month as the weather improved throughout July and into early August.
Average wholesale electricity prices increased from €107.74 in June to €110.94 last month, WEI said. However, prices on the days with the most power declined by 36 per cent to €70.30 per megawatt hour and rose to €129.95 on days when the grid was most reliant on fossil fuels like natural gas.
“Electricity generated from Irish wind farms replaces imported fossil fuels and pushes the wholesale price of electricity downwards,” said Justin Moran, director of external affairs at WEI. “The more wind we can get on the system, the less we have to rely on expensive imported gas and the more we can do to help Irish households struggling with high energy costs.”
But he said the Government must “reinforce” the electricity grid with the addition of new on and offshore wind farms as well as solar farms and batter projects “in just a few short years” in order to meet the Coalition’s climate targets.
“Recent investments in An Bord Pleanála have sped up the decision-making process on planning applications for renewable energy projects and we hope that this will continue,” Mr Moran said. “The quicker that projects can clear the planning system, the sooner they can be built and start delivering clean electricity to power our homes, businesses and local communities.”
The lobby group said last month that An Bord Pleanála approved four projects capable of generating 228 megawatts (MW) of energy in the first half of the year and rejected eight capable of generating a total of 459MW.
Some 30 projects, meanwhile, capable of delivering 1,766MW were still awaiting decision at the end of June.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
