Best June on record for Irish wind farms

14 July 2025

Wholesale prices fall for fifth straight month

Wind generation in Ireland was the highest on record for a June month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), which published its monthly wind energy report.

The share of electricity demand met by Irish wind farms in June, at 30 per cent, was up slightly when compared to June 2024 and it was also a record month for Irish solar farms.

The monthly report also shows that the demand for electricity during June increased marginally from 3,019 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to 3,151 GWh in the same month last year.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Our members provided nearly a third of Ireland’s electricity during the first half of 2025 and last month was a particularly strong June month for renewable energy generation.

“Our wind farms are Ireland’s leading source of renewable electricity, playing a key role in reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels and boosting Ireland’s energy security.

“If we can accelerate the delivery of new wind and solar farms, we can continue to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels and put money back in people’s pockets.”

Electricity prices

In some other good news, the average wholesale price of electricity per megawatt hour dropped for the fifth month in a row to €95.21. This is the first time average wholesale prices have dropped under €100 so far this year and the lowest since April 2024.

On days last month with the most wind power, the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity was €67.15 but this rose to €115.06 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.

Noel Cunniffe added: “Affordability is critically important to Irish families and businesses.

“Since 2000, renewable energy has saved electricity consumers nearly €1 billion according to recent research by Baringa. It is clean, it is secure and it supports communities in rural Ireland.

“Every time a wind turbine or a set of solar panels is generating electricity, it is pushing down wholesale electricity prices and increasing our supply of clean energy.”

County generation

Based on data provided by Green Collective, Kerry wind farms provided more electricity than any other county last month with 105 GWh of power, around 11 per cent of the country’s wind energy. Kerry was followed by Cork (83 GWh), then Mayo (65 GWh), Galway (64 GWh) and Offaly (61 GWh).

Noel Cunniffe concluded: “Last year, wind farms like those in Kerry, Cork and Mayo helped Ireland save more than €1.2 billion on gas spending.

“Rather than importing hundreds of millions of euro of gas, Irish wind farms ensured money stayed where it belongs, at home, supporting Irish workers and businesses.

“To meet the needs of our growing economy, we need to accelerate the delivery of new wind farms and we are committed to working with the Government to help make this happen.”

The report confirms that wind energy generated 939 GWh in June, up from 771 GWh during the same month last year.

The results of this report are based on EirGrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid, market data provided by ElectroRoute and county-level wind generation data provided by Green Collective.