Wind farms provided 32% of electricity for the first 10 months of the year, according to Wind Energy Ireland, which today (Monday, November 18) published its monthly wind energy report.
Wind generation in Ireland was the third highest on record for the month of October, with 35% of electricity generated from wind. Solar power and other renewables accounted for 4%.
However, the trade association highlighted the increasing amount of wasted energy as a “growing challenge”, with record levels of constraints on the electricity grid restricting the amount of power Irish wind farms are allowed to provide.
Wind Energy Ireland stated that despite 2023 being a record year for the amount of electricity produced by wind at 13,725 gigawatt-hours (GWh), this figure is expected to fall in 2024.
It stated that this is partly due to wind energy being lost because the electricity grid is “not strong enough” to carry it.
When this happens wind farms are instructed to reduce the amount of power they produce or shut down entirely, which means using more fossil fuels instead of clean energy, according to Wind Energy Ireland.
Director of external affairs at Wind Energy Ireland, Justin Moran said: “While our wind farms performed well last month, this year is on track to be the worst on record for the amount of wind energy wasted.”
Energy
Moran said that 14% of wind energy production was lost in the first nine months of the year because of challenges with the transmission network.
“To overcome this challenge, we want to see EirGrid get support right across Irish society for its plans to reinforce our transmission system, and it is welcome to see some political parties highlighting in their election manifestos their commitment to reinforcing our electricity grid.
“We would urge people to support the BuildOurGrid.ie campaign and projects like the North-South Interconnector which are essential to a robust, modern, Irish electricity grid,” Moran said.
The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during October 2024 was €123.45, down slightly from €125.53 in October 2023.
Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall 26% to €91.53 per megawatt-hour and rise to €176.52 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
Kerry maintained its lead position, producing more wind power than any other county (131 GWh) in October. It was closely followed by Cork (130 GWh), Mayo (86 GWh), Galway (83 GWh) and Tipperary (75 GWh). Together, the top three counties produced over a quarter of Ireland’s wind power last month.
Wind farms
Moran said that Irish wind energy is reducing Ireland’s carbon emissions by over four million tonnes a year and creating “significant opportunities” in job creation and funding for rural communities.
“With the General Election taking place this month, we are encouraging candidates to lead the way in supporting Ireland’s energy revolution and securing our supply of electricity produced at home.
“If we all work together, we will deliver cleaner power, cheaper power and lay the foundation for Irish energy independence for our communities,” Moran said.
The data supplied by Wind Energy Ireland is based on EirGrid’s Transmission Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), compiled by MullanGrid, market data provided by ElectroRoute and solar, as well as other renewable and county-level wind generation data provided by Green Collective.