Consumer gains lie in building and connecting onshore wind farms

During last year’s energy crisis, wind farms did the most to protect Irish families and business, writes Noel Cunniffe, CEO, Wind Energy Ireland

Wind turbines are increasingly becoming part of the landscape in Ireland, as this image shows; this photo was entered into a Wind Energy Ireland photo competition promoting awareness of climate action.

The past 18 months have been a terrible time for Irish electricity consumers. The cost of electricity has doubled for Irish households and is now the highest in Europe. Businesses, particularly small, local, companies have struggled, and in some cases shut, in the face of ever rising bills.

There is no easy solution to our crisis but the cause is very clear. For too long Ireland has depended on imported fossil-fuels to provide the electricity we use to light our homes and power our industries. The hard lesson from 2022 is that we will always be vulnerable while we depend so much on the volatile global fossil-fuel markets.