Almost one third of Irish electricity powered by wind energy in September 

Last week, the Cabinet signed off on the Planning and Development Bill which will bring radical changes to Ireland's planning system and has been widely welcomed, however, Mr Cunniffe says that reforming the planning system will achieve little if the resources are not in place. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Just under a third of Ireland's electricity last month was powered by wind energy, new figures reveal, reflecting a 25% jump in the volume of wind energy when compared to September last year.

According to Wind Energy Ireland's latest report, strong winds throughout the second half of last month delivered a third consecutive record-breaking month in wind power generation in Ireland, with July, August and now September all surpassing previous monthly records.

The latest figures mean that Irish wind farms provided 32% of the island’s electricity over the first nine months of 2023.

The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour last month was €111.62, down 60% from €283.25 in September 2022. The average wholesale price for days with the most wind power was €88.34, rising to €132.52 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.

“Our members provided 32% of Ireland’s electricity in September and the volume of wind generated was up by 25% when compared to the same month last year," said Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland. “But we can do better." 

"The development of renewable energy, as well as the grid infrastructure and planning reform required to supply it, must accelerate." 

Last week, the Cabinet signed off on the Planning and Development Bill which will bring radical changes to Ireland's planning system and has been widely welcomed, however, Mr Cunniffe says that reforming the planning system will achieve little if the resources are not in place.

“Budget 2024 will be announced next week, and we are calling on the Government to make sure that An Bord Pleanála, the NPWS, MARA and local authorities involved in the environmental assessment of renewable energy will have the appropriate funds to hire sufficient expert staff to meet the demand on their services."

“Without this vital investment, we will fail to grow the amount of indigenous energy we produce, fail to continue decreasing wholesale electricity prices and put at risk our ability to reach our legally binding climate targets.”  

“The more renewable energy we can connect, the more secure we make Ireland’s energy supply and the greater protection we have from international markets.”