Wind farms provided 35 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in first five months of 2023

The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour during May 2023 was €105.19, down 16 per cent from €125.57 in April 2023. Despite the drop in average wholesale prices, the good weather in the second half of May meant that, at 21 per cent, the share of demand met by wind energy last month was down on May 2022.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said: “Irish wind farms are helping to cut our carbon emissions and to insulate families and businesses from the worst effects of the fossil fuel energy crisis.”

“Every time a wind turbine is generating electricity it is reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, supporting Irish jobs and helping to push down wholesale electricity prices. The faster we can build and connect new wind farms, the cleaner and cheaper we make Ireland’s electricity supply.”

Noel Cunniffe continued: “While there has been a drop in electricity generation from wind in May compared to last year’s figure, wind farms have performed well over the first five months of 2023 by providing 35 per cent of our electricity. On 10 May, Irish wind farms met over half of Ireland’s electricity demand for that day.”

“We are expecting to see significant progress in the second half of this year with new wind farms connecting to the grid, solar projects coming on stream and the first offshore wind projects applying for planning permission.”

Image: Wind Energy Ireland

Wholesale prices continue to fall

Prices fell even further last month with the average wholesale price for electricity falling again to just over a hundred euro per megawatt hour. However, while prices are moving in the right direction, average prices before the fossil fuel energy crisis were between €50 and €70 per megawatt hour so there is still some way to go to reach those levels. There is also some concern that we might see the fall in gas prices reverse later in the year.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, added: “The continued fall in wholesale electricity prices is welcome news. Consumers and businesses are struggling every day with high energy bills. Affordability is really important as well as reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. We know from the recent EPA report on Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas emissions that we need to act fast to reduce our carbon emissions and prioritise responding to the climate emergency.”

“Wind energy projects are moving at pace, and the quicker we have wind farms up and running, the sooner we can rely on more Irish renewable energy to provide our electricity and reduce our reliance on volatile imported fossil fuels.”

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