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IRELAND GENERATED A higher proportion of its energy through wind power last month than ever before, a new report by Wind Energy Ireland has revealed.
This was also an increase of 7% in wind energy generation from April 2021.
The April Wind Energy report found that 32% of the country’s power was generated by wind turbines at a time when consumers are facing increasing energy costs due to the rising price of fuel.
The report said that power generated from turbines in April helped to push down the average wholesale price of electricity for the month to €218.26 per megawatt-hour from its record high of €293.25 in March.
The average household consumes 4.6 megawatt-hours of electricity each year.
This was also an increase of 7% in wind energy generation from April 2021.
The report found that the average price of electricity was 18.5% lower on April’s windiest days when compared to days with the little or no wind.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, welcomed the publication of the record-breaking data.
“Every month wind energy is cutting our carbon emissions and helping to insulate Irish consumers from the worst effects of our dependence on expensive imported gas,” he said.
“Every new wind farm and solar farm connecting to the electricity system helps to make Ireland more energy independent. We need to accelerate the development of clean, cheap, renewable energy to push fossil fuels out of the electricity market.”
Cunniffe blames this reliance on fossil fuels electricity prices being 155% higher than they were last April.
“Our planning system must be reformed and properly resourced to ensure that the renewable energy projects needed by the Climate Action Plan can get properly, but quickly, examined and we can move forward with getting those projects built.”
April followed a strong first quarter of the year for wind energy, during which wind contributed 39% of Ireland’s generating capacity.
Electricity prices in Ireland remain are the fourth highest in the EU and 26% higher than the EU average.
Many energy suppliers have announced that price increases would be taking effect during the year, with Electric Ireland electricity prices set to rise by 23.4%: an additional €297.58 per year.
In April Eirgrid announced that up to three quarters of electricity flowing through the national electricity grid at any time can now come from variable renewable sources following an eleven month project on the grid.
The company now aims to continue upgrading the grid to increase this figure to 95% by 2030 in order to achieve Government renewable energy targets.
Wind Energy Ireland has said that Ireland’s electricity can be net zero emissions by 2035.
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Its . . . . . Its almost . . . . . . . Its almost like . . . . . . Its almost like Ireland has domestic energy opportunities . . . . . . !
@Mogh Roith: It’s only natural new records are set as more and more wind capacity comes online. The gas price drop could explain the drop in energy prices though so it’s not as simple as invest in wind, safe the earth and money
@Mogh Roith: They must be carefully gatekept by foreign investment funds in order to extract the most from Irish households
@Quiet Goer: Wave energy is another great untapped resourced, which could be made from plastic that is been dumped in our oceans anyway so why not use it for coating the turbines for wave technology. Waves will always happen, wind may ease or stop.
@Mogh Roith: wind does not reduce fossil fuel dependence so what’s the point, not a solution. We are still importing the same amount of fossil fuel as before.
A clear sign of global winding. Better tax something fast!
@Bricesypherthron Smith: Éamon is going to hold a meeting to discuss taxing the wind.
So what. Unless Ireland develops a method for storing wind energy in times of low demand, this technology is only a supplement to 24hour a day energy generation which means fossil fuel will remain a major source of electricity for the foreseeable future. Nuclear is an option but only if the problems associated with long term storage of radioactive nuclear waste are solved.Do not hold your breath.
@Don Hogan: Batteries. Like the one which 10s of 1000s of cars run on. They store electricity.
@Don Hogan: pumped hydro and lots of it
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Sadly the technology to manufacture and couple large scale batteries to wind farms does not exist. Until then fossil fuels are the only reliable 24 hour per day way of generating electricity.
@Baronvoncass: Same problem. No way to store hydro.
@Don Hogan: you have heard of batteries right? They exist with the capacity to store that energy. The government just won’t commit to renewables, but don’t think for a second the technology isn’t there.
@Don Hogan: Not so. Chemical batteries are difficult but if lots of battery cars become available, that may change. Large scale solutions already exist eg with water pumping using excess generation at the “electric mountain” in Wales. Ireland is not short of either mountains or water. https://www.electricmountain.co.uk/Dinorwig-Power-Station
@Don Hogan: Hydrogen… Sodium-sulphur batteries… lithium batteries… and there are many new technologies about to come onstream too.
@Don Hogan: concerning hydro power, what do you think reservoirs are for?
@Don Hogan: that’s why he said “pumped storage”. Like turlough hill in Wicklow. When the wind blows you use the excess energy to run pumps to fill the reservoir at the top, and when the wind is slack you let the water run back down through the turbines to spin the generators. The reservoir at the top is essentially a rechargeable battery. Proven tech, look it up. We did it in the mid 70s and could do it again in loads of empty valleys in the west if the political will was there. Except for the NIMBYs too of course
@Don Hogan: Not necessary as we are connected to European network!
@Don Hogan: there are two solutions to nuclear waste deep geological repositories and fast breeder reactors. The first deep geological repository is being constructed in Finland and China has already built and is now operating a sodium cooled breeder reactor.
Well I don’t see the end users getting any benefits from it
Extra capacity would be great but needs pumped hydro projects to store for peak use times…
But they kill all the birds. And your television doesn’t work when the wind isn’t blowing.
@Vonvonic: windows and cats kill more birds
@eoin carroll: D@mn you windows and cats!!!
@Vonvonic: Save the birds: Start using Linux, and a mouse
@Vonvonic: the lesser spotted sash windows are deadly.
@Quiet Goer: And you can just play a game of scrabble when the wind isn’t blowing.
@Don Hogan: when coal isn’t shovelled into fire electricity runs out. Why is this an argument. Let’s figure out simple storage problem rather than destroying the earth.
@Vin O’Brien: because it’s far from simple. If you do manage to solve the problem could be a couple of billion in it for you.
Read info in link if you want to know how to store energy from wing farms or hydro. It is not batteries.
Wind energy does not reduce fossil fuel dependence so they are not a solution. We are still importing the same amount of fossil fuel as before.
Wind turbines are always shown inempty countryside or on hill-tops which does not reflect the reality here in the Midlands.
Why does the Journal not also show pictures of huge 125m high turbines towering over houses at the politically permitted distance of 500m from.
They don’t reduce fossil fuels though so pointless
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