Wind power map shows just 2pc of land could increase green electricity by 200pc

Irish Independent

28-04-2025

Industry body Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) says it has identified all the potential sites and it wants the Government to refocus efforts on developing them.
The group hired planning consultants MKO to carry out the exercise.
MKO said the sites do not impinge on protected habitats or buffer zones around homes, national parks or key infrastructure.
Managing director of MKO Ireland, Brian Keville, said its findings showed Ireland had significant potential to make much more of its onshore wind power.
'This analysis clearly demonstrates that a significant amount of onshore wind energy can be delivered in just 2pc of the country's land mass, while taking account of planning and environmental constraints and design requirements,' he said.
Ireland currently has just over five gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity from onshore windfarms.
Under the Climate Action Plan, the target is to increase that to 9GW by 2030.
There are multiple windfarm projects in planning and construction that will help bring that target within reach.
WEI and MKO said, however, there is scope to add another 6GW on a phased basis, to bring the total to 15GW.
WEI chief executive Noel Cunniffe said the Government should reset its targets and aim for a total of 11GW by 2035 and 15GW by 2040.
ADVERTISEMENT
'The more wind energy that we can develop, the less we rely on imported fossil fuels, and the better protected Irish families and businesses are from a volatile fossil fuel market,' he said.
'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.'
The report comes a week after government advisory body the National Economic and Social Council issued a highly critical analysis of the State's renewable energy strategy, which is heavily focused on developing offshore wind.
Offshore wind projects have potential to deliver very large volumes of electricity but the first six proposed developments only entered the planning system in the last year and already the developers of one have indicated they will not be proceeding with it.
None of the others are expected to have planning determined and construction completed before 2030.
Onshore wind projects have also hit barriers, with half refused planning permission last year.
Revised windfarm development guidelines, updated to take account of the growing size of turbines and new noise-level limits, were promised a decade ago but have not yet been published.
MKO's mapping exercise identified 1,302 square kilometres of land on which enough new windfarms could be built to generate 6GW extra electricity while maintaining a 700-metre buffer zone from properties – more than the 500m proposed when the revision of guidelines began.
'As a result of this approach, all settlements, villages, towns and cities are constrained out [excluded],' the report says.