Cork takes Kerry's crown as Ireland's top county for generating wind energy

Cork knocked Kerry off top spot as Ireland's top county for wind power generation last month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI).

Cork knocked Kerry off top spot as Ireland's top county for wind power generation last month, according to Wind Energy Ireland (WEI).

Wind power generation in July 2025 totalled 786 gigawatt-hours, with Cork wind farms knocking Kerry’s off the top spot for the first time since the beginning of this year.

July 2025 represented the third best month on record for electricity generation from Irish wind farms, WEI said in its monthly report on Tuesday. Wind farms provided 24% of the country’s electricity in July - up slightly compared to July 2024 - but wholesale electricity prices rose slightly after several months of sustained falls.

Cork produced 85 GWh and was closely followed by Kerry (84 GWh), Offaly (54 GWh), Galway (53 GWh) and Mayo (51 GWh). Together, the top three counties provided more than a quarter of Ireland's wind power last month.

 “The more wind we can get on the system, the less we have to rely on expensive imported gas, and the more we can do to help bring down the cost of energy bills. Wind farms, like those in Cork and Kerry, are playing an important part in reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels and boosting Ireland’s energy security," said WEI director of external affairs Justin Moran.

“Every year we are losing more and more of Ireland’s most affordable renewable electricity because our existing grid is not strong enough to take the power our wind farms produce.

“The additional €3.5bn for grid development announced in the revised National Development Plan will help transform our electricity system and speed up the delivery of clean and affordable power to Irish homes and businesses.” 

The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during July 2025 was €99.61, down 10% from €110.94 during the same month last year.

Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a megawatt-hour of electricity fall to €84.80 per megawatt hour and rise to €111.55 on days when the State relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.

Wind energy has generated 31% of Ireland’s electricity in the first seven months of this year.