Wind farms help deliver cleanest month yet for our power grid

10 Mar 2025

Wind energy provided 48 per cent of Ireland’s power in February, making it Ireland’s leading source of electricity last month. That is according to Wind Energy Ireland, which today published its monthly wind energy report.

The combination of a strong performance by Irish wind farms and the new Greenlink interconnector to Britain made February 2025 the cleanest month yet for the Irish electricity grid according to expert analysis from Green Collective.

The wind energy report also found that wind generation ranked third highest on record for a February month.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland said: “Electricity generated from Irish wind farms replaces imported fossil fuels and pushes the wholesale price of electricity downwards.

“Our wind farms cut spending on gas for electricity in Ireland last year by almost one billion euro. Wind energy is our number one source of clean electricity.

“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.”

Price of electricity

The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during February 2025 was €140.86, down slightly from €167.51 in January.

Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall by over 20 per cent to €94.46 per megawatt hour and rise again to €187.57 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland added: “Having an affordable, clean supply of electricity is really important to Irish families and businesses. 

“Every time a wind turbine or a set of solar panels 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.

“With support for wind energy stronger than ever, we need to accelerate investment in grid infrastructure to maximise the benefits for families, businesses and the environment.

“Investment in our electricity grid was the top recommendation this week from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council who have rightly identified it as a top priority for this Government. A stronger grid means a more secure supply of clean, affordable, electricity.”

County colours

Based on data provided by Green Collective, Kerry wind farms retained their lead position, producing more wind energy than any other county (199 GWh) last month.

Cork wind farms came in second with 184 GWh, followed by Mayo (120 GWh) and Offaly (117 GWh). Galway was the final county to reach the top five, producing 111 GWh.

The report follows the launch of Wind Energy Ireland’s County Colours Dashboard, a new online platform showing how counties across Ireland are playing their part in making wind energy and saving carbon emissions.

Noel Cunniffe concluded: “It is really positive to see the contribution that renewable energy made in February, with wind farms across the country providing nearly half of Ireland’s electricity.

“Irish people want clean, affordable and secure energy. That is what wind farms deliver and we will need to continue accelerating the rollout of wind energy to meet the growing electricity demands of our economy – for families, homes and businesses right around the country.”

Irish wind farms generated 35 per cent of the country’s electricity in total so far this 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.