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Cork managed to take the top spot from Kerry for a second time, while wind energy continues to be a significant source of electricity for Ireland.
Wind energy continues to be a major source of power generation for Ireland, providing 32pc of the country’s electricity so far this year.
That’s according to a new report from Wind Energy Ireland, which found that last month was the third best July on record for wind energy in the country. Wind provided 22pc of Ireland’s electricity last month, compared to 7pc being provided by solar and other renewable sources.
While still a significant figure, the report said that the recent warm weather in recent weeks brought the monthly supply down compared to the record-breaking results in July 2023, which was 11pc higher than last month’s result.
The report claims that the average cost of electricity decreased by 36pc on the days with the most wind power – €70.30 per megawatt hour on those days compared to €129.95 on days when Ireland relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
Wind Energy Ireland director of external affairs Justin Moran said having an affordable, accessible and reliable source of clean energy is “vital for consumers to have confidence in our transition to a zero-carbon society”.
“Electricity generated from Irish wind farms replaces imported fossil fuels and pushes the wholesale price of electricity downwards,” Moran said. “The more wind we can get on the system, the less we have to rely on expensive imported gas and the more we can do to help Irish households struggling with high energy costs.”
The report also found that Cork produced 80GWh in wind energy last month, taking the top spot from Kerry which came second at 66GWh, followed by Galway (55GWh), Mayo (54GWh) and Tipperary (46GWh). Together, the top three counties provided almost a third of Ireland’s wind power last month.
There has been a back and forth between Cork and Kerry in terms of wind energy production. Cork pushed Kerry off the top spot in May for the first time since Wind Energy Ireland started publishing data at a county level, but Kerry managed to regain the position in June.
Challenges remain when it comes to boosting Ireland’s wind sector however, particularly in the production of offshore wind. There is currently no port in the Republic of Ireland capable of deploying offshore wind farms.
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