Concern over long delays faced by wind companies

WIND energy is saving up to €280,000 a day in fuel production – yet some wind companies are facing waits of up to 10 years before they can get connection to the national grid.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) has expressed concern at its autumn conference that these delays will undermine the long-term development of the sector unless tackled immediately and could culminate in paralysis in the run-up to the 2020 deadline, before which this country wants to have 40% of its energy needs from renewable resources.

Research by the IWEA carried out in July showed that wind energy made savings on fuel production costs of €212,000 – €280,000 per day. They also project that over the next 10 years, Ireland’s wind capacity should grow from 1,085 MW to approximately 6,250 MW; creating 10,700 jobs.