The June Wind Energy report shows Ireland’s wind farms provided 34% of the country’s electricity in the first half of 2024.
The latest figures published by Wind Energy Ireland show wind power generation in June 2024 was the third highest on record for a June month, totalling 771 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
Wind energy met 25% of Ireland’s electricity demand last month, up 5% from June 2023, while solar power and other renewables provided an additional 8% of the country’s power.
Kerry regained its top spot as the leading source of wind energy last month, accounting for 12% of Ireland’s wind power at 90GWh. It was closely followed by Cork (82GWh), Galway (67GWh), Donegal (52GWh) and Tipperary (47GWh).
“The first half of the year has been strong for Irish wind farms which have supplied just over a third of our electricity so far this year,” said WEI chief executive Noel Cunniffe.
He added: “That is clean electricity produced in Ireland to power our homes and businesses while cutting our carbon emissions.
“It is also really positive to see the strong performance of solar energy and other renewables last month as part of our renewable energy mix.
“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 local communities.”
Wind Energy Ireland’s monthly report follows the launch of its Repowering Ireland paper, which warned there is a growing risk that dozens of the country’s wind farms will be forced to shut down before the end of the decade unless government makes urgent changes to the planning system.
The research carried out by MKO shows 76 sites with an installed capacity of 854MW will reach the end of their planning permission between now and 2030.
Noel Cunniffe added: “Ireland can be a leader in Europe’s energy revolution. We have the natural resources, we have the project pipelines and we have the ambition to deliver a zero-carbon society.
“As well as building new wind farms, we need to enable our existing wind farms that are reaching the end of their planning permission to continue to supply affordable, clean power to Irish families and businesses.
“That is why we are urging the government to simplify the process for these wind farms to extend their planning permission from the planning authorities and to put in place policies to support repowering, where the original turbines are taken down to be recycled and new, modern, turbines are installed in their place.”
According to June’s Wind Energy report, the average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour (MWh) during June 2024 was €107.74. Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a MWh of electricity decrease to €86.78, rising to €125.98 on days when the country 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.