Cork overtakes Kerry as Ireland's largest wind energy producer

Wind farms provided 35 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in first five months of the year.

Wind farms in Cork produced 76 GWh last month, 11% of the country's entire production.  Picture Dan Linehan

Cork has become Ireland's largest producer of wind energy overtaking Kerry new data shows.

Wind farms in Cork produced 76 GWh last month, 11% of the country's entire production.

According to Wind Energy Ireland, it was the first time since they started publishing data at a county level that Kerry was knocked off the top spot. Kerry wind farms generated 68 GWh last month followed by, Galway (50 GWh), Tipperary (45 GWh) and Tyrone (39 GWh).

So far this year, wind farms provided 35 per cent of Ireland’s electricity. Last month, the share of electricity demand met by wind farms, was 21 per cent, which was below the normal average but the shortfall was partially compensated by a record month for solar power. 

Wind Energy Ireland said the average wholesale price of electricity per megawatt-hour (MWh) during May was €107.76. Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average drop to €88.08, rising to €118.77 on days when the network relied almost entirely on fossil fuels. 

Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs at Wind Energy Ireland, said: “While the amount of electricity generated by wind farms last month was lower than previous months, the good news is that renewable sources combined, such as wind and solar power, provided nearly 30 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in May.

“Every time a wind turbine or solar panel is generating electricity, it is reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, helping to push down wholesale electricity prices and increasing our supply of clean energy to power our homes and local communities.”