Calls for other counties to step up as Kerry leads Ireland’s wind energy output

MONTHLY figures from Wind Energy Ireland revealed that windfarms in Kerry produced the highest output of energy in the entire country for the month of March, which has rekindled strongly held views that Kerry has more than played its part in the overall output of wind energy.

As the majority of turbines in the county are located in North Kerry, the latest findings have prompted Fine Gael Councillor Michael Foley to state it’s time other counties stepped up and played their part.

He feels the March figures once again show that Kerry is playing a vital part in wind output and that other parts of the county should no longer be considered as a location for more wind farms.

Turbines across Ireland generated over 1,541 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in March, surpassing the previous record of 1,392 GWh set in March 2020. Kerry wind farms produced the most power (187 GWh) of any other county.

Kerry’s land mass of just over six per cent produces an electricity supply to the national grid of between 18 and 22 per cent.

“Of course we have played our part in wind energy as we have more wind turbines than any other county in the country. This is the simple reason why we produced the most. Now it is time for other counties to play their part,” Cllr Foley said.

Cllr Foley is on record in the past as saying his locality of Ballylongford is now akin to a ‘wind turbine alley’ given the prevalence of wind farms that have popped up in recent years along the Shannon Estuary region.

It is estimated that the Tuarsillagh wind farm alone in North Kerry generates enough electricity to supply 12,000 homes and saves 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere each year.

However, in 2022, Cllr Foley submitted a report on wind energy stating that based on current output, if every county in the State generated the same MW of electricity per square kilometre as Kerry, it would add an additional 6,631MW of wind power to the grid.

Moreover, he stated that analysis shows if Kerry were included on a table of EU countries regarding MW (Mega Watt) per sq.km, the county would be ranked among the third largest in the EU.

Wind Energy Ireland say approximately 43 per cent of Ireland’s electricity last month came from wind energy, while the report showed the average wholesale price of electricity in March 2024 was €88.67 – down 40 per cent from €145.25 in March 2023.