Grid issues saw Ireland lose 14% of the electricity produced from wind so far in 2024, making it the worst year for energy wastage on record.
Wind Energy Ireland’s latest monthly report warned that issues with the country’s transmission network could also cause the country to underperform last year’s record electricity production of 13,725GWh in 2024.
Wind farms have had to either reduce output or shut down if they are producing too much power to avoid overloading the system – leading to fossil fuels filling the gap.
This comes despite a strong performance from Ireland’s wind industry, with wind farms generating a third of the country’s electricity in the first ten months of the year, with October seeing them account for 35% of Ireland’s electricity production.
Electricity generation in October was the third highest ever recorded for the month, following closely behind February and January this year.
Other renewables – including solar power – accounted for 4% during the period.
WEI director of external affairs Justin Moran said that Ireland was fortunate to have natural resources such as wind to generate clean electricity.
However, he urged EirGrid to “get support right across Irish society for its plans to reinforce [the] transmission system”.
He added that it was good to see “some political parties highlighting in their election manifestos their commitment to reinforcing our electricity grid”.
Moran continued to invite people to support the BuildOurGrid.ie campaign and other projects such as the North-South Interconnector, which he noted were “essential to a robust, modern, Irish electricity grid”.
Lower prices
The report highlighted the average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per MWh during October, noting that it had been at €123.45 – slightly lower than October 2023 when the wholesale price was at €125.53.
Days on which the most wind power was produced saw the average cost drop by 26% to €91.53 per MWH, with the number climbing to €176.52 when the country relied almost exclusively on fossil fuels.
WEI also listed the amounts of electricity produced by individual counties in October, with the top three – Kerry (131GWh), Cork (130GWh) and Mayo (86GWh) – providing more than a quarter of Ireland’s wind power that month.
Regarding this, Moran said that Kerry wind farms in particular had played an “enormous part” in reducing the country’s carbon emissions by more than “4 million tonnes a year,” whilst creating opportunities for new jobs and funding for rural communities.
He continued to say that Ireland would be better placed to become energy independent, build more warm homes and ensure cleaner air if it continued to grow its renewable sector.
“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,” he said, adding: “If we all work together, we will deliver cleaner power, cheaper power and lay the foundation for Irish energy independence for our communities”.
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