Wind energy supplied record high of 53% of electricity demand in February

Data also shows wind energy is crucial in cutting price of wholesale electricity

Wind Energy Ireland has released its February Wind Energy report, which showed that wind energy provided 53 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in February 2022. This is the highest share of demand ever achieved by wind in Ireland.

Wind energy was also the number one source of electricity throughout the month and on 5 February set a new All-Ireland record for the amount of wind energy on the system at 4,584 MW.

The report also highlights the importance of wind energy in cutting the price of wholesale electricity, with results showing that during the windiest periods of the month, wholesale prices were almost €100 cheaper per MWh than during less windy days, at €134.25 per MWh, versus €229.62.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, welcomed the results saying, “These results show the ever-increasing importance of wind energy and renewables for the Irish energy sector. It is vital that we bring through new wind farms as quickly as possible in the coming months and years to ensure we can consistently achieve figures like this if we are to meet the targets set in the Climate Action Plan.

“The fact that wholesale prices fall when wind energy production is high shows that wind energy will play an increasingly important role in the coming months, mitigating the worst effects of the predicted price increases for consumers due to spiralling fossil fuel import prices.”

The report also highlighted the dramatic increase in energy prices between February 2021 and 2022, with wholesale electricity prices rising almost three-fold.

The results of this report are based on EirGrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid and on market data provided by ElectroRoute. This is the first in what will be a continuing series of monthly reports from Wind Energy Ireland. This series will play an important role in progressing the development of wind energy as an energy source in Ireland.

Notes

A megawatt-hour (MWh) is a unit of electricity. A normal Irish household will use approximately 4.6 megawatt-hours of electricity in a single year. A 3 MW turbine producing electricity at maximum capacity for an hour will produce 3 megawatt-hours. A gigawatt-hour (GWh) is 1,000 MWh.