Wind-generated electricity hits a new record

IRELAND enjoyed its highest-ever amount of wind-generated electricity for April with a third of Ireland’s power needs being met, figures released yesterday show.

Turbines generated 1,027 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity last month which was 32.4% of demand, an increase of 7% from the previous April. The previous record was 32.2% in 2019.

Wind Energy Ireland’s Justin Moran said: ‘New wind energy infrastructure connected in 2020 has played a significant role and that is a large part of the reason why the 2022 figure beat the previous April record of 32.2% of demand in 2019.’

However, Mr Moran added that the significant increase from last year was also in part due to April 2021 not being a very windy month compared to normal conditions at that time of year. Last month’s record comes after a strong first quarter of 2022, where wind met almost 40% of Ireland’s electricity demand.

Wind Energy Ireland said the large volume of wind energy produced in April helped to push down the average wholesale price of electricity for the month, but that prices are still more than double what they were in 2021 due to the country’s continued reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels.