Latest news with #WindEnergyIreland
BreakingNews.ie
11 hours ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Third best July on record for Irish wind farms thanks to Cork and Kerry
Wind generation in Ireland was the third highest on record for a July month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), which published its monthly wind energy report on Tuesday. 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. Advertisement 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. 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. Director of external affairs at Wind Energy Ireland, Justin Moran, 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." Advertisement Moran said 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 and electricity prices The share of electricity demand met by Irish wind farms in July, at 24 per cent, was up slightly when compared to July 2024. 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. Advertisement '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.' 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. Moran said: '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.'
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Wind energy made up 24% of total supply in July
Wind energy made up almost a quarter of the country's electricity last month, according to the latest report from Wind Energy Ireland. There was 786 gigawatt hours of wind energy generated in the month - making it the third biggest July on record. Cork was the biggest source of energy in the month, with 85 GWh generated, closely followed by Kerry at 84 GWh. Offaly, Galway and Mayo were also major suppliers, with the five counties delivering more than 40% of the country's total. "A lot of counties there on the west coast, or the south-west coast where you have a huge amount of available wind energy," said Justin Moran, director of external affairs at Wind Energy Ireland. "Those wind farms are replacing imported fossil fuels." It means that wind represented almost one-third of all energy generated in the first seven months of the year. Mr Moran said that this was important in reducing Ireland's emissions, but also in improving energy prices and the country's resilience. "It helps make Ireland more energy secure and it pushes down wholesale electricity prices, which helps to protect consumers," he said. "The more wind we can get in the system the less we have to rely on expensive imported gas, and the more we can do to continue to push down energy bills for families, for consumers, for businesses that are really hard-pressed at the moment." The amount of supply coming from wind would also be higher, he said, were it not for infrastructural limitations. "We're losing more and more of the electricity that we do produce because our existing grid is not strong enough to take the power wind farms produce," he said. "Last year we lost 14% of the electricity we could have produced because wind turbines were forced to switch off or reduce the amount of power they were generating because the grid couldn't take it." Progress on further developing Ireland's wind energy network has been slow but Mr Moran said there have been signs of improvement in recent times. That includes an improvement in the speed of decision-making, while the recently updated National Development Plan also commits a significant amount of money to upgrading the country's electricity system. "We're seeing improvements in decision timelines from An Bord An Bord Pleanala, decision timelines from the Enviromental and Planning Courts - we're hoping that's going to start improving too," he said. "The additional €3.5 billion for grid development announced in the revised National Development Plan, that's really, really important. "That's the kind of leadership we need to see to transform our electricity system and speed up the delivery of clean power to Irish homes and businesses." Yesterday major Danish energy firm Ørsted announced plans to raise the equivalent of €8 billion as it faces a major financial challenge. That includes the company's inability to sell a stake in a major wind development off the coast of New York, due to the Trump Administration's hostile policy approach to renewable energy. Mr Moran said that the shift in policy in the US could have a knock-on effect on Ireland's attempts to ramp up wind energy projects, but it is also a reminder of the importance of doing so. "I do think it's going to make raising investment more challenging," he said. "But it's really a lesson for Europe and for Ireland - what we're seeing is the US government, captured by the fossil fuel industry in essense, turning on clean, affordable power generation. "The lesson for us is that we really need to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy - we need to move towards Irish and European energy independence, we need to get away from a situation where electricity consumers are held hostage to the whims of a dictator in the Kremlin or an erratic US president," Mr Moran said. "We need to be in charge of our energy future."
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Cork takes Kerry's crown as Ireland's top county for generating wind energy
Cork knocked Kerry off top spot as Ireland's top county for wind power generation last month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI). 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. July 2025 represented the third best month on record for electricity generation from Irish wind farms, WEI said in its monthly report on Tuesday. Wind farms provided 24% of the country's electricity in July - up slightly compared to July 2024 - but wholesale electricity prices rose slightly after several months of sustained falls. 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. '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," said WEI director of external affairs Justin Moran. '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 €3.5bn 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.' The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during July 2025 was €99.61, down 10% 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 the State relied almost entirely on fossil fuels. Wind energy has generated 31% of Ireland's electricity in the first seven months of this year.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish ports unsuitable to construct offshore wind projects, committee hears
The Government will have to ringfence funding for the expansion of Ireland's ports, an Oireachtas committee heard on Tuesday, with just one port on the island capable of facilitating the construction of floating wind projects . While Belfast Harbour meets the spatial requirements to act as a construction hub for offshore projects, not a single port in the Republic is currently equipped to do so, Justin Moran, director of external affairs at Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs . Mr Moran said the industry body has concerns about the availability of Belfast as a hub for the construction of floating wind schemes. He said the wind industry could build for Irish offshore projects using Cherbourg or ports in Wales as construction hubs. 'We don't want to do that,' Mr Moran said. 'We want to build them from Irish ports. 'We shouldn't act as if Belfast will simply be available, waiting for us,' Mr Moran told TDs and senators. 'Belfast has contracts to service British wind farms on their side of the Irish Sea, so having a port available to construct and develop a wind farm [in the Republic] is critical. While there had been some progress in the Republic, the development of port infrastructure requires substantial Government investment, Mr Moran said. He said a new national port strategy, which will be put out for public consultation in the autumn, must facilitate 'direct investment in our ports'. Mr Moran also said that the State could do more to allay the concerns of Ireland's fishing industry about the development of offshore wind and its impact on fisheries. 'Fishermen tell us they firmly believe that if wind farms are built, the Government or some other State agency will prevent fishing,' he said. 'It will be very helpful and provide reassurance to the seafood industry, if the committee could give courage to the Government to give a commitment on that matter and to ensure there is no ban on fishing near all offshore wind sites.' Capt Robert McCabe, chairman of the Government's Seafood/Offshore Renewable Energy Working Group, said stakeholders are keenly awaiting An Coimisiún Pleanála's first decisions on applications for offshore projects under the new maritime planning system instituted in 2021. 'The conditions [attached to those planning decisions] would speak to a lot of the issues that we raise,' he said.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Wholesale electricity prices fall to lowest level since April 2024
The average wholesale price of electricity per megawatt hour fell for the fifth month in a row in June to €95.21, its lowest level since April 2024. On days last month with the most wind power, the average cost of a megawatt hour of electricity was €67.15 but this rose to €115.06 on days when the country relied almost entirely on fossil fuels. Irish wind farms met 30 per cent of electricity demand in June and Irish solar farms had a record month. Demand for electricity during June increased marginally, according to the report. Noel Cunniffe, chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland, said: 'Our members provided nearly a third of Ireland's electricity during the first half of 2025 and last month was a particularly strong June month for renewable energy generation. 'Our wind farms are Ireland's leading source of renewable electricity, playing a key role in reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels and boosting Ireland's energy security. 'If we can accelerate the delivery of new wind and solar farms, we can continue to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels and put money back in people's pockets.' He said renewable energy has saved electricity consumers nearly €1 billion since 2000. 'Every time a wind turbine or a set of solar panels is generating electricity, it is pushing down wholesale electricity prices and increasing our supply of clean energy,' he said. 'Last year, wind farms like those in Kerry, Cork and Mayo helped Ireland save more than €1.2 billion on gas spending.' The information is based on data from Eirgrid's SCADA, compiled by MullanGrid, Electroroute, and Green Collective.
