Environment

Christmas Eve wind energy enough to power 70m cups of tea

Over 2,800MW of electricity generated at one point, providing 68% of Irish energy needs

The IWEA said the amount of wind energy generated is the equivalent of powering 1,834,200 homes, making 70,550,000 cups of tea or powering 51,309,091 televisions. File photograph: Getty Images
The IWEA said the amount of wind energy generated is the equivalent of powering 1,834,200 homes, making 70,550,000 cups of tea or powering 51,309,091 televisions. File photograph: Getty Images
Aine McMahon
Wed Dec 28 2016 - 21:49

Enough wind energy to make over 70 million cups of tea was generated on Christmas Eve.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) said new records were set over the Christmas period for wind energy generation across Ireland.

At one point on Christmas Eve over 2,800 megawatts of electricity was being generated by wind across the island, providing 68 per cent of Ireland’s energy needs at that time.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) said new records were set over the Christmas period for wind energy generation across Ireland. File photograph: Getty Images
The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) said new records were set over the Christmas period for wind energy generation across Ireland. File photograph: Getty Images

Official data shows shortly after 10.30pm on December 24th, wind energy was providing 2822MW of electricity.

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The IWEA said the amount of wind energy generated is the equivalent of powering 1,834,200 homes, making 70,550,000 cups of tea or powering 51,309,091 televisions.

IWEA chief executive Gary Healy said more capacity to generate wind energy was added to the system throughout the year, enabling more electricity needs to be met by wind.

“There will be more capacity added again throughout 2017 and this progress will significantly help Ireland’s journey towards a cleaner, renewable energy future,” he said.