The electricity generated from Irish wind farms last month was greater than the electricity generated from imported fossil fuels, according to new data from Wind Energy Ireland.
Irish wind farms provided 48 per cent of Ireland’s power in February, making wind the State’s leading source of electricity last month, the group said.
The increased supply of wind energy also pushed the wholesale price of electricity downwards.
The strong performance by wind farms in combination with the new Greenlink interconnector to Britain made February “the cleanest month yet” for the Irish electricity grid, according to Green Collective which collates data on wind energy.
Kerry wind farms retained their lead position, producing more wind energy than any other county (199 Gigawatt hoursGWh) last month. Cork wind farms came in second with 184 GWh, followed by Mayo (120 GWh) and Offaly (117 GWh).
Wind Energy Ireland chief executive Noel Cunniffe said: “Our wind farms cut spending on gas for electricity in Ireland last year by almost €1 billion.
“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,” he said.
“Every time a wind turbine or a set of solar panels is generating electricity, it is reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, helping to push down wholesale electricity prices and increasing our supply of clean energy,” he said.
“With support for wind energy stronger than ever, we need to accelerate investment in grid infrastructure to maximise the benefits for families, businesses and the environment,” Mr Cunniffe said.
The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during February 2025 was €140.86, down slightly from €167.51 in January.
Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall by over 20 per cent to €94.46 per megawatt hour and rise again to €187.57 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
