Europe’s wind energy leader

APPROXIMATELY €500 million has been invested in Kerry’s wind energy to-date, making The Kingdom a European leader for renewable energy integration according to new figures compiled by the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).

The figures were published at the IWEA’s autumn conference which took place at the INEC in Killarney last Thursday.

An IWEA spokesperson said Kerry had been chosen as the venue for this year’s event due to the significant number of leading wind industry companies based in the county.

These include Enercon, Moriarty, Wind Prospect, OES Environmental Consultants, Saorgus Wind Energy, TLI Group, and Malachy Walsh and Partners.

The IWEA figures show that there is 315MW of wind energy installed throughout the county, representing enough capacity to power almost 205,000 Irish homes.

With approximately 1MW of installed wind energy for every 468 people in Kerry, figures reveal that the county has the highest integration of wind energy per capita in Ireland, making it the greenest county in the country from an electricity user perspective.

“Kerry has become an international leader for renewables, and is now arguably the most environmentally sustainable county in Ireland from an energy perspective,” said IWEA Chairman Peter Harte at teh conference.

“The continued decarbonisation of our electricity network is of critical importance to Ireland both economically and environmentally and Kerry developments are perfect examples of how wind energy can live in harmony with some of the world’s most spectacular natural environments,” Mr Harte said.