Some 40 per cent of energy across Ireland was generated from the wind in December, according to data released on Monday.
The data from EirGrid shows other renewable energy sources accounted for a further 6.7 per cent of energy during December. They included solar, hydropower and energy generated from biomass sources.
“Wind energy contributed strongly to electricity generation last month, marking one of the highest December figures for wind energy generation on record according to provisional data,” said director of system operations at EirGrid Diarmaid Gillespie.
A total of 1,287 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy was generated from wind during December.
Overall, 38 per cent of electricity was generated by gas. A further 12 per cent was generated by gas imported from abroad through the interconnector. Some 2 per cent of energy came from coal and the remaining 1 per cent came from other sources such as peat.
Total electricity demand across Ireland stood at 3,110 GWh during December.
The Government is targeting 80 per cent of energy to come from renewable sources, according to the Climate Action Plan 2023.
At the moment, the Irish electricity grid can accommodate up to 75 per cent of electricity from renewable sources at the same time, EirGrid says. The company says it is aiming to increase the limit of renewable energy the grid can store at any one time.
- Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
- Opt in to 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
