Less than 10 per cent of the Republic's accessible wind resources are being harvested despite the fact that more than £10 billion could be earned annually from them, according to the Irish Energy Centre.
At the opening of the centre's national renewable energy information office in Bandon, Co Cork, yesterday, Mr Fran Convery, chairman of the Irish Energy Centre, said the Republic had the best wind-energy resources in Europe, but had failed to capitalise on them.
Instead, we imported 86 per cent of the fuel required to meet our energy needs.
"By increasing our use of wind energy and other renewable energy resources, we can achieve a more secure and stable energy supply for the long term," Mr Convery said.
Most of the electricity generated was created by burning fossil fuels, he said, which had produced more than 15 million tonnes of harmful carbon-dioxide emissions last year.
As part of the UN Kyoto Protocol, the Republic had pledged to keep emissions at 13 per cent above the 1990 level, between 2008 and 2012.
The renewable energy information office will offer an information service for the public, industry and local government on renewable energy and will assist the Irish Energy Centre in research and development. The opening of the Bandon offices coincided with a visit yesterday to a seven-turbine wind farm near Bandon which generates enough electricity to power 3,000 homes in the locality.