The May Wind Energy report shows Ireland’s wind farms provided 35% of the country’s electricity over the first five months of 2024.
The latest figures, published by Wind Energy Ireland, show demand for electricity during May 2024 increased slightly to 3241 gigawatt-hours (GWh), up from 3181GWh in the same month last year.
The share of electricity demand met by wind farms, at 21%, was below the normal average for wind energy in May but the shortfall was partially compensated by a record month for solar power.
For the first time since WEI started publishing data at a county level, Kerry was knocked off the top spot as country’s leading source of wind energy. Cork took the lead in May, producing more energy than any other county (76GWh).
It was closely followed by Kerry (68GWh), Galway (50GWh), Tipperary (45GWh) and Tyrone (39GWh).
“While the amount of electricity generated by wind farms last month was lower than previous months, the good news is that renewable sources combined, such as wind and solar power, provided nearly 30% of Ireland’s electricity in May,” said WEI’s director of external affairs Justin Moran.
“Every time a wind turbine or solar panel 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 to power our homes and local communities.”
WEI’s monthly report follows the launch of its ‘Get Out in the Wind’ campaign, which encourages people to celebrate Irish wind farms during the month of June and visit one of more than a dozen wind farms open to the public around Ireland at no cost.
Moran added: “We should be proud that our wind farms have provided more than a third of our electricity so far this year. That is clean electricity produced in Ireland to power our homes and businesses while cutting our carbon emissions.
“Wind farms can also be a haven for wildlife and offer wonderful family days out with a variety of walking, biking, horse-riding and hiking trails on offer, many of them open to the public every day.
“That is why we are dedicating the full month of June to celebrating our wind farms with our Get Out in the Wind campaign and encouraging everyone to experience Ireland’s clean energy in action.
“Irish wind farms, and last month particularly those in Cork, are playing an enormous part in reducing Ireland’s carbon emissions by over four million tonnes a year and creating significant opportunities in job creation and funding for rural communities.
“Ireland has significant renewable energy sources and by growing our renewable energy sector, we can build an Ireland that is energy independent, delivering warmer homes and cleaner air.”
According to the report, the average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour (MWh) during May 2024 was €107.76. Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a MWh of electricity decrease to €88.08, rising to €118.77 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
The results of this report are based on EirGrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid, market data provided by ElectroRoute and SEMO daily metered generated data compiled by Green Collective.