Wind farms provided 35% of the island of Ireland’s electricity and set a new record for the amount of power they produced in 2023.
The figures come from Wind Energy Ireland’s Annual Report and a new analysis published by Baringa, entitled Cutting Carbon, Cutting Bills: Analysis of savings in gas consumption delivered by wind farms in 2023.
The Baringa analysis found that without wind energy, Ireland would have had to spend an additional €918m on gas, most of which would have been imported, for power generation in 2023 and an extra €358m on carbon credits to burn that gas.
An additional €279m was saved in Northern Ireland.
The total amount saved on gas of nearly €1.3bn was down on the €2bn saved in 2022 due to significantly lower wholesale gas prices over the past year.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Electricity generated from Irish wind farms replaces imported fossil fuels.
“The more wind we can get on the electricity grid, the less we rely on imported gas and the more we can cut our carbon emissions and keep that money at home.”
Cunniffe added: “Our members can be proud of the role Irish wind farms are playing in supporting Irish electricity consumers and reducing our carbon emissions.
“It is a true success story, and we are on the way to an energy independent future for Ireland.
“But we cannot build the wind farms we need to achieve energy independence without a planning system that is fit for purpose and we cannot get the power to where it is needed without support for EirGrid and ESB Networks to develop a much stronger electricity grid.
“Progress to date on the Planning and Development Bill has been welcomed by industry and the Government’s plan to put in place mandatory timelines for planning decisions as part of the new legislation needs to be fully supported.
“Both planning reform and grid reinforcement must remain top priorities right across the political system in 2024.”