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DOZENS OF WIND farms have been opened to the public to mark Global Wind Day.
Several events, coordinated by the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA), allow all members of the public to access these sites at designated times.
Figures obtained from EirGrid.ie show that power from wind energy has met an average of 21.5% of the electricity demands in Ireland in the first half of this year, up just over 2.1% from the same period in 2013.
It met over half the total system demand, which varied from 1750MW to 4462MW, roughly 4% of the time.
The majority of these periods were during the night when system demand is at its lowest
For example, a peak of 65.7% was achieved at just after 5am on one morning in February.
An extra 350MW of capacity is expected to be added to the grid this year.
“Clear focus and momentum”
Kenneth Matthews, CEO of the IWEA, said good progress has been made with wind energy so far this year, “but we cannot take this for granted and must ensure that the clear focus and momentum remains on achieving our 2020 targets and planning towards 2030 and beyond”.
“In over 20 years as an industry in Ireland we have always encouraged open and honest discussion and providing access to wind farms right around the country is an open invitation to those interested in learning more about the benefits of sustainable local energy to come along and see it for themselves,” Matthews added.
Fuel imports
Earlier this week, Wind Aware called into question figures published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland which stated Ireland had saved €177 million in fuel imports due to wind energy.
“Iin order to prop up this uneconomical and unsustainable form of power and peat the consumer is now to pay €328 million through subsidisation,” a statement from the group said.
“It doesn’t take a maths genius to work out that this is a net loss to Irish society of €151 million,” they added.
The total capacity of all wind farms in Ireland stood at 2011MW at the start of this year.
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Global wind day stealing my thunder on daddy’s day…..bloody turbines
Nuclear fusion will settle this argument soon enough.
Jack judging by the number of thumbs down a lot don’t understand the difference between nuclear fusion and fission. Let’s hope fusion research continues to advance. With the remaining obstacles been overcome.
Check out this TED talk from March regarding fusion by synchronised hammer stirkes:
But not in my back yard….
The only problem with nuclear fusion is that is has been “ten year away from being viable”, for the last 30-40ish years, but hopefully they will get it very soon.
Wind energy… I’m a big FAN!
So am I Cousin. A good feed of Guinness and a curry I could power half the city.
Hopefully one day we Irish will fully embrace this power, wind energy and pylons are needed to secure the future of energy for the generations of Irish. Failure to let the system become modern and more bigger by small time rural locals will result in higher energy costs for us all and also more chance of blackouts due to out of date energy system with increasing population.
Dylan, and also need base-load non-variable power generation for when the wind don’t blow, which happens more often than some would have you believe.
Well we could set up a wind turbine out side the dail. The amount of hot air blowing out of there would be more than enough to give a base load.
Wow, comparing wind energy with Back To the Future. You clearly don’t actually understand the whole thing of renewable energy. You’d rather pollute the earth than find better ways of fuelling things
There are more wind turbines going up in china than anywhere in the world per capita. Comparing modern turbines that produce electricity to Dutch ones used for milling is a nonsense. Wind turbines alone will never lead us to a carbon free future but will help us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels enormously.
Monsters?
you’ve got your words mixed up Dylan, I’ll fix it for you:
Hopefully one day we Irish will fully abandon wind energy, wind energy and pylons are not needed to secure the future of energy for the generations of Irish considering demand has dropped and there is low GDP to energy ratio. Letting the system have more redundant wind technology with more fossil fuel dispatchable plant running alongside it will result in higher energy costs for us all and also more chance of blackouts due to out of date variable wind energy system.
We should all have electric cars at this stage, solar panels on the roof and wind turbines that pop out of the roof when parked.
I tried designing a solar powered car back in primary school, it didn’t turn out so well
Yeah solar is kinda crappy, especially for Ireland, , it’d just be for trickle charging really. The wind turbine could probably do a lot more though and then top up whatever extra you need with the mains. There are some pretty cool videos on YouTube showing wind powered cars whereby a turbine, usually a vertical axis, is connected directly to the wheels and they run. They’re only toys but interesting nonetheless. I’m designing and 3d printing one at the min ;).
Here’s a video showing a VAWT powering a boat directly into the wind, counter intuitive but pretty cool -
http://youtu.be/oKqC5JsurOk
Do you have a link to one of the videos? If solar energy is ever going to be a sustainable energy source the panels will have to be much more sensitive in order to pick up the little sunlight we have most of the time. Even then it couldn’t be a main source. Wind and tidal energy are more realistic for Ireland seeing as we have an abundance of wind and sea in this country. It’d also create a variety of jobs in rural areas which are so desperately needed. We need to stop relying so much on fossil fuels and imported energy.
That’s a pretty impressive boat, easy to see how it good go terribly wrong, but still a good idea
* could go
Yeah its a good idea, would probably be better off being larger diameter and shorter to lower the centre of gravity.
A light moped would be ideal for a little wind turbine to pop out of it when parked up, if you were to drive to work and let it charge for 8 hours it’d probably be nearly fully charged by that time. Might try to get my hands on one of the new electric ones for some experiments ha.
Sorry I meant the boat turbine be better off being a VAWT instead of HAWT.
Hopefully they’ll have more top up stations around the country for solar powered cars. There’s one right next to my bus stop but it’s rarely used hopefully wins and solace top up stations will be a common feature alongside diesel and petrol at petrol stations soon
Public would be 151 million better of if we had no wind farms says it all.
Sure you can build a wall of euros to keep out the water when the global meltoff starts lapping at your door.
haha, yeah the wind farms are going to stop that !
Global Bird Killing day….
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/wind-farms-can-kill-eagles-without-penalty-f2D11702834
No true by a long way. Windows and tall buildings kill the vast majority of birds. Wind turbines kill a fraction of a percent of the total no of birds killed. #renewableenergy
The birds mentioned about in this case are eagles and one in particular the bald eagle…..
a bird of significant importance to America being on its national emblem.
For Obama to give wavers on killing these birds to wind farms shows how much he cares about America. You very rarely hear of eagles crashing into sky scrapers…
Actually it happens a lot more than people think or care about. Especially large glass fronted buildings and those houses with floor to ceiling windows. The birds either attach them thinking the reflection is a rival or they think there is nothing there.
Nice photos of bird kills at that link.
What a silly photo. The turbines are at least 5 times higher than in the photo. 185 metres high FFs
Saw a wonderful retort to the turbine killing birds thing in America. The Turbine company quoted the number of cats in America and how they on average kill a bird a day. It was impressive. Get a gun, kill cats. Save the birds.
not sure what you are trying to achieve seanie with your nonsense.
He’s pointing out the fact that if people are really that worried about saving birds then they would be better off killing cats as they kill way more birds than wind turbines do
the problem is wind farms disproportionately kills birds of prey
In America, wind farms have to get a licence to kill white eagles and birds of prey.
Not true. Glass windows kill proportionally way, way more than anything else. If we are really interested in saving hundreds of millions of birds, then ban glass fronted tall buildings, which do not contribute anything to the environment. At least wind turbines contribute something to lessening our co2 load in creating climate change!
you are still ignoring the point. Birds of prey dont get killed by buildings. Wind farms kill BIRDS OF PREY. As there are less of these birds, it stands to reason that wind farms will eventually wipe the majority of them out.
At least wind turbines contribute something to lessening our co2 load in creating climate change!”
baloney. we have built more gas plants since the rush for wind. wind energy increases dependence on fossil fuel.
Not true on both counts. A lot of birds of prey are in fact increasing in numbers and in the number of species on this island. Their biggest threat is loss of habitat, people with poison/guns and tall glass fronted buildings.
With regard to wind turbines they are making massive inroads into lowering our co2 footprint.
You my friend are the one who doesn’t get it, which is a pity as the more that do get it the better this planet will be.
“Shooting is not the biggest problem, poisoning has killed the most and three have flown into wind turbines. ”
- White Tailed Eagle reintroduction project manager Dr Allan Mee
Thats the problem with wind merchants , they try to tell you black is white
as for “biggest threat is loss of habitat” thats what wind farms are doing, taking away habitat. So not only is your statement false, its also self contradictory.
The rule allows wind energy companies to obtain 30-year permits to kill or injure eagles without fear of prosecution, extending previous permit limits by 25 years –
Companies in ringaskiddy cork built there own turbines to lessen there reliance on non renewable energy sources.
One in every back yard i say!
James, ever heard of rare earth? Mined in China and used to make wind turbines They are ripping up and destroying vast areas of china, destroying the environment, peoples health, and pumping crap into the atmosphere to produce wind turbines. Wind turbines are not as environmentally friendly as we are led to believe. As the old saying goes, not in my back yard.
https://www.google.ie/search?q=rare+earth+china&client=firefox-a&hs=HhX&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=f6udU5_EFequ7AbrqYDICg&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1252&bih=611
Alan, i was joking, i cant stand the things, a hurensous blot on the landscape that dont justify their existence for the so called rewards they bring. Dont worry, your safe here. Can you imagine one in your garden!
We need to make better use of solar and tidal energy. It’d provide renewable and greener energy at the same time as creating jobs
The myth of green jobs exposed.
http://www.castlemainian.com/new2/tag/germany-green-jobs/
Diesel turbo cars all the way, none of that electric rubbish.
There would be a mix of temporary and permanent jobs. The problem is that these projects aren’t being conducted in a self-sustainable way and they aren’t on a large enough scale. They need to be designed to take over from fossil fuels and non-renewable sources and then stable jobs can be provided
Ha. More outrageous scaremongering. This material is not required to make turbines. Maybe Chinese turbine manufacturers use it but most of the main players do not need to use permanent magnets. They use electro magnetic material which behaves the same as a permanent magnet when it is excited by current from the grid.
Not one of the big 2 or 3 or 4 mega watt ones no. But I have seen the 4 to12 kilowatt ones attached to chimneys or side of house or at the end of a garden. Doing things like helping to heat house or just the hot water tank.
In the UK if you are producing more electricity than your using you can sell it back to the grid. There are even people who’s homes are making them money by the use of small wind turbines.
That’s in Ireland too…..
More in South Co Dublin back yards I say – CRO records show 90% of investors in wind come from South Dublin
The companies in ringaskiddy wanted to sell the excess power it produced back to the residence of ringaskiddy at a greatly reduced price but eirgrid. Wouldnt allow it.
And still costing more that regular electricity
Any suggestions for how to get the industry off the ground without incentives?
I’d suggest nationalising energy industries. It’s strange to think that people are using things like energy and water to make a profit
Nationalising haha like that has always worked in the past a proven to be the most efficient way. Fool
Thanks for the insult. Any evidence for your broad statement? I mean evidence that supports the idea that nationalisation has NEVER worked or been the most efficient way. Individual examples will not do
The more turbines we have the better and the less of our money goes to opec.
That is the thing.
Isn’t it better to pay a local here rather than an Isis loving Saudi Arabia.
Let the money circulate in this economy.
When you look at the subsidies that exist and have existed for the last 100 years for the oil industry they dwarf any other form.
When all energy subsidies are removed they are now competitive with with coal and gas, and readily beat nuclear.
This is still an infant industry and yet is already out posed to out pass them.
It is on the ledger book that they will win in the next few years. That is where it matters.
Seanie, you seem to be a professional troll. How is that going for you?
You must realise that wind companies and oil/gas companies are becoming one and the same in Ireland. These companies are hoovering up all the money we pay in energy – SSE Airtricity, ESB, Energia etc.
So, no, we have not reduced our dependence on oil/gas in Ireland. We have built 20% more fossil fuel plant since 2006.
Will it provide any power today in celebration? last Friday the UK got just 0.5% of it’s power from wind at a cost of £2 billion a year in subsidies. Add on the cost of back-up power and the cost of ‘free’ wind becomes ridiculous. Reliance on intermittent wind means blackouts and rationing.
Ah, but that’s dwarfed by the amount the oil companies are spending on social media astroturf campaigns!
If Royal Dutch Shell had so much as suggested that the warming threat might be exaggerated, a team of activists from Greenpeace, WWF and the IPCC would issue press releases overnight declaring “Vested Interests Promote Doubt and Denial”. Other lobbyists like, say, The Royal Society, would write a letter to Shell blasting it for “disinformation“.
But when Shell asks for more government handouts to fund its ventures in Carbon Capture and Storage, the vested interest is obvious, but the apoplexy and conspiracist accusations are nowhere to be seen. Shell, of course, sells oil, but it also sells CCS. And things haven’t been going well for Shell’s carbon storage projects. The EU carbon price has crashed, taking all the fun (and profits) out of carbon capture.
The Climate Research Unit (CRU) in the UK was set up in 1971 with funding from Shell and BP, so the corrupt science behind AGW is paid for by Big Oil and by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and UK Nirex LTD.
They neglected to add that wind was producing 3MW on 26th May.
When the craze for destroying the countryside passes who will pay for the removal of these eyesores ? Will they just be abandoned when the subsidies dry up? The wind power experiment has been a failure as the experience across the planet shows
Wind energy serves one purpose and one purpose only – to enrich the people of South Co.Dublin and allow them claim back tax.
Sadly all humanity is going to pay for the small minds of the anti wind lobby who enjoy watching TV, cooking meals on electric cookers, heating their homes yes with the aid of electricity.
Simply fact as a planet we have two choices to secure the future of millions of human life on this planet in the next 100 years they are switch off all electrical supplies and stations tomorrow or embrace renewable energy it’s as simple as that.
It’s the biosphere that is failing us due to pollution from humanities greed for energy. Wind farms going through rigorous planning and biodiversity studies before permission is granted.
So to recap as a nation we need to switch off or wake up to the bigger picture stop thinking about today and worry about tomorrow, which for our kids will mean flooding and crop failures never witnessed in human records before. We are 50 years from the balancing point of the start of the sixth extinction that’s global by the way. We are losing more species per year than has ever been the case in all of the previous extinction events in our planets history. And no they didn’t have wind turbines 6,000,000 years ago.
yeah and whats wind going to do about it ?
Surely Ireland has enough wind than to be paying millions to construct these huge fans
have your say