Wind farms provided 32 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in the first ten months of 2024

Wind generation in Ireland was the third highest on record for an October month, according to Wind Energy Ireland, which today published its monthly wind energy report.

The latest figures show that wind energy provided 35 per cent of Ireland's electricity last month, while solar power and other renewables accounted for 4 per cent. Irish wind farms have generated nearly a third of the country’s electricity over the first ten months of the year.

However, the trade association highlighted the increasing amount of wasted energy as a growing challenge with record levels of constraints on the electricity grid restricting the amount of power Irish wind farms are allowed to provide.

Wasted energy

Wind Energy Ireland pointed out that despite 2023 being a record year for the amount of electricity produced by wind at 13,725 gigawatt-hours (GWh), this figure is expected to fall in 2024.

This is partly due to wind energy being lost because the electricity grid is simply not strong enough to carry it. When this happens wind farms are instructed to reduce the amount of power they produce or shut down entirely which means using more fossil fuels instead of clean energy.

Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs at Wind Energy Ireland said: “We are fortunate in Ireland to have natural resources like wind that can generate more affordable, clean electricity to power our local communities.

“While our wind farms performed well last month this year is on track to be the worst on record for the amount of wind energy wasted. Over the first nine months of the year, 14 per cent of wind energy production was lost because of challenges with the transmission network.

“To overcome this challenge, we want to see EirGrid get support right across Irish society for its plans to reinforce our transmission system and it is welcome to see some political parties highlighting in their election manifestos their commitment to reinforcing our electricity grid.

“We would urge people to support the BuildOurGrid.ie campaign and projects like the North-South Interconnector which are essential to a robust, modern, Irish electricity grid.”

Price of electricity

The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during October 2024 was €123.45, down slightly from €125.53 in October 2023.

Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall 26 per cent to €91.53 per megawatt-hour and rise to €176.52 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.

County breakdown

Kerry maintained its lead position, producing more wind power than any other county (131 GWh) in October. It was closely followed by Cork (130 GWh), Mayo (86 GWh), Galway (83 GWh) and Tipperary (75 GWh). Together, the top three counties produced over a quarter of Ireland’s wind power last month.

Justin Moran added: “Irish wind farms, and last month particularly those in Kerry, are playing an enormous part in reducing Ireland’s carbon emissions by over 4 million tonnes a year and creating significant opportunities in job creation and funding for rural communities.

“By growing our renewable energy sector, we can build an Ireland that is energy independent, delivering warm homes, cleaner air and one that meets the needs of our growing economy.”

Justin Moran concluded: “With the General Election taking place this month, we are encouraging candidates to lead the way in supporting Ireland’s energy revolution and securing our supply of electricity produced at home.

“If we all work together, we will deliver cleaner power, cheaper power and lay the foundation for Irish energy independence for our communities.”

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

ENDS