12 August 2025
Wind generation in Ireland was the third highest on record for a July month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), which today published its monthly wind energy report.
Wind farms provided 24 per cent of the country’s electricity last month but wholesale electricity prices rose slightly after several months of sustained falls.
The latest figures show that wind power generation in July 2025 totalled 786 gigawatt-hours, with Cork wind farms knocking Kerry’s off the top spot for the first time since the beginning of this year.
Cork produced 85 GWh and was closely followed by Kerry (84 GWh), Offaly (54 GWh), Galway (53 GWh) and Mayo (51 GWh). Together, the top three counties provided more than a quarter of Ireland's wind power last month.
On this morning’s Morning Ireland, Justin Moran, highlighted the key findings of the July report, noting that while wind energy supplied 24% of Ireland’s electricity last month, ongoing delays in grid connections and infrastructure limitations continue to hinder further progress, leading to lost renewable output.
Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs at Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Electricity generated by Irish wind farms replaces imported fossil fuels and pushes down wholesale electricity prices.
“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 bring down the cost of energy bills.
“Wind farms, like those in Cork and Kerry, are playing an important part in reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels and boosting Ireland’s energy security.”
Share of demand
The share of electricity demand met by Irish wind farms in July, at 24 per cent, was up slightly when compared to July 2024.
Justin Moran added: “Wind energy generated around a quarter of Ireland’s electricity last month but we need to build more wind farms and strengthen our electricity grid to provide more clean energy.
“Every year we are losing more and more of Ireland’s most affordable renewable electricity because our existing grid is not strong enough to take the power our wind farms produce.
“The additional €3.5 billion for grid development announced in the revised National Development Plan will help transform our electricity system and speed up the delivery of clean and affordable power to Irish homes and businesses.”
Price of electricity
The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during July 2025 was €99.61, down ten per cent from €110.94 during the same month last year.
Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall to €84.80 per megawatt hour and rise to €111.55 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
Justin Moran concluded: “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.
“Research published in 2025 shows that since 2000, renewable electricity has – conservatively – saved consumers nearly €1 billion and that figure will keep rising.”
The report also confirms that wind energy has generated 31 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in the first seven months of 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.
