Almost half of Ireland’s power was provided by wind last month

Wind supplied a record amount of Ireland’s electricity generating power in November, according to figures from all-Ireland industry group Wind Energy Ireland.

Wind farms were responsible for 48 per cent of all generation power last month, making it the primary source of electricity in Ireland over the month. This follows a 47 per cent contribution in October.

The latest figures mean wind energy has supplied more than a third – 34 per cent – of all electricity in Ireland in the first 11 months of the year.

It was the best November on record for the volume of electricity produced by Irish wind farms and the share of demand met by the country’s main source of renewable energy.

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“The data emphasises once again the contribution wind energy is making to insulate Irish families and businesses from the worst effects of the fossil-fuel energy crisis,” said Noel Cunniffe, chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland.

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“With one month remaining in 2022, wind farms across Ireland have provided over a third of the country’s electricity this year, making this one of the best years on record for wind energy. These are Irish generators producing power without burning imported fossil fuels, which means we can cut our carbon emissions at the same time as we cut our fuel imports.”

November saw an average wholesale electricity price of €143.12 per megawatt-hour (MWh), with the average price at just €106.99 per MWh on the days with the most wind power on the system.

“Our families, communities and businesses will be vulnerable to extreme electricity prices so long as we continue to rely on imported fossil fuels for our power. We must accelerate the development of our own, indigenous, sources of renewable energy to meet our carbon emissions targets and to protect consumers,” Mr Cunniffe said.

Total electricity demand in November 2022 was 3,337 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power and wind energy generated 1,612 GWh. Demand in November 2021 was 3,361 GWh and wind produced 1,106 GWh that month.

The results of this report are based on Eirgrid’s SCADA data compiled by MullanGrid and on market data provided by ElectroRoute.

This is the eleventh in what will be a continuing series of monthly reports from Wind Energy Ireland, which is the largest renewable energy organisation in Ireland with more than 150 members.