Wind energy supplied almost a third of Ireland’s electricity in October, according to the latest monthly report from Wind Energy Ireland.
This means that Irish wind farms have supplied 33% of Ireland’s electricity demand in the first 10 months of this year.
However, the report notes that due to moderate winds last month the amount of electricity generated by wind was down when compared with October 2022.
“While wind generation figures last month were lower than previous Octobers, we are still on track for a strong performance from wind energy in 2023 with wind generation so far this year nearly 3 per cent higher than last year,” Noel Cunniffe, chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland, said.
“The quicker we can build wind farms, the sooner we can rely on Irish renewable energy to provide our electricity and the sooner we can cut our carbon emissions.
“The more renewable energy we can connect, the more secure we make Ireland’s energy supply,” he added.
Electricity
The report shows that wholesale electricity prices rose again last month due to high fossil-fuel costs.
There was nearly €70 in the difference between the wholesale cost of electricity on the windiest days and those days when Ireland had to rely almost entirely on fossil fuels – €101.66 and €170.79 respectively.
The average wholesale price for a megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity in October was €125.52, which was a 12% increase when compared to the previous month.
“The increases we are seeing in electricity prices are driven by the price of imported fossil-fuels.
“Demand for gas tends to rise in the last three months of the year as the weather gets colder and the rising price of that gas is further fuelled by continuing global economic uncertainty,” Cunniffe said.
Last month also saw the lowest carbon intensity for Ireland on record for the month of October at 231g/KWh.
“Increasing the amount of renewable energy we produce from zero carbon sources like wind and solar will help to lower our carbon emissions and contribute to cleaner air and warmer homes for our local communities,” the Wind Energy Ireland chief executive said.