Hope for electricity consumers as new report finds Irish onshore wind energy can treble

In a new study commissioned by Wind Energy Ireland, leading Irish planning and environmental consultancy MKO has calculated Ireland’s capacity for further onshore wind development, which is the country’s cheapest source of new electricity.

A report published earlier this year found that, between 2000 and 2023, onshore wind farms saved Irish electricity consumers nearly €840 million.

In the first study of its kind, Protecting Consumers: Our onshore wind energy opportunity, analyses Ireland’s geography, identifying the land available in the country for future development.

The mapping exercise identified roughly 1,302km² of land on which wind farms could be built – less than 2 per cent of the Republic of Ireland. Conservative estimates suggest this would be enough to produce nearly 6,000 MW of onshore wind energy.

Assuming the 2030 Climate Action Plan target of 9,000 MW is met this additional capacity would treble our current wind generation.

Launching the new report, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, Noel Cunniffe, said:

“We need to protect Irish electricity consumers and onshore wind energy is Ireland’s most affordable source of new electricity. The more wind energy that we can develop, the less we rely on imported fossils fuels, and the better protected Irish families and businesses are from a volatile fossil fuel market.  

“Every month we see wind energy reducing electricity costs. Tripling our onshore wind capacity, which is possible by delivering our existing pipeline and developing the land identified in this research, would drive these costs down even further.

“We are calling on the Government to set new targets for onshore wind energy of 11,000 MW by 2035 and 15,000 MW by 2040.”

Brian Keville, Managing Director of MKO Ireland, added: “Ireland has significant additional potential to harness our indigenous onshore wind energy resource.

“This analysis clearly demonstrates that a significant amount of onshore wind energy can be delivered in just two per cent of the country’s land mass, while taking account of planning and environmental constraints and design requirements.”

This study is the first objective and methodological assessment of Ireland’s future onshore wind potential.

It considers every domestic and commercial building in the country, every river, lake, protected area, heritage site and existing wind farm as well as a host of other constraints. The research also accounts for standard levels of attrition experienced by projects as they move along the development pipeline.

Key recommendations

The report’s authors propose five key recommendations to support Irish electricity consumers:

• Clear target: To encourage investment in onshore renewables the Government should set increased 2035 and 2040 targets for onshore wind.
• Clear policy: We need clear, consistent, policy set at a regional level identifying preferred areas for onshore renewable energy. This would help County Councils to identify enough land to develop the onshore wind we need.
• Stronger grid: Significant reinforcement of the electricity transmission grid will be required to harness the full potential of our wind energy resource.
• Updated guidance: The existing draft Wind Energy Development Guidelines must be updated and finalised, based on robust scientific evidence.
• Landscape: This research should be used to develop a national approach to assessing the sensitivity of landscape to onshore wind energy.

Noel Cunniffe continued: “The research is clear. Ireland has an incredible opportunity to keep developing our most affordable electricity source, to build a strong, resilient, and competitive economy based on a secure supply of energy.

“The identified land makes up less than 2 per cent of the country and it is important to remember farming and tourism often continues as normal on a wind farm. That small area of land could provide an enormous amount of clean, affordable, power.”

Accelerating the development of onshore renewable energy will require resourcing and reforming our planning system as well as clear support – from communities, industry and across the political spectrum – for a stronger electricity grid.

Noel Cunniffe concluded: “At a time when our economy is under threat from tariffs, energy costs and global uncertainty we have a solution, ready-made, here in Ireland.

“To develop this enormous potential we need a well-resourced planning system which prioritises renewable energy and takes full advantage of changes in EU law designed to accelerate the development of wind power.

“Supporting this we must have a stronger, more robust, electricity grid which ensures the clean, affordable, power from these wind farms gets to those who need it.

“Building that grid means delivering essential upgrades and new power lines, like the North-South Interconnector, which is the spine around which we can build an electricity grid for a 21^st century economy.

“The challenge is significant, but the reward is a clean, affordable, energy-secure future, that supports Irish jobs and communities. If we deliver on our full wind energy potential, we will build a prosperous, resilient, competitive future for Irish families and business. That’s a future worth investing in.”

The report is available to read in full here.