- The average wholesale price of Ireland’s electricity per megawatt-hour (MWh) last month was €111.62, down 60% from €283.25 in September 2022.
- Wind Energy Ireland urged the government to ensure stakeholders involved in the environmental assessment of renewable energy have access to funds to recruit experts.
In its latest monthly report, Wind Energy Ireland stated that wind energy provided 32 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in September 2023. The volume of electricity generated by wind in September 2023 was up by 25 per cent compared with September 2022. Strong winds throughout the second half of last month delivered a third consecutive record-breaking month in wind power generation in Ireland, with July, August, and now September all surpassing previous monthly records.
The latest figures mean that Irish wind farms provided 32 per cent of the island’s electricity over the first nine months of 2023. The average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour (MWh) last month was €111.62, down 60 per cent from €283.25 in September 2022. The average wholesale price for days with the most wind power was €88.34, rising to €132.52 on days when the country relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
The CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, Noel Cunniffe, said, “Our members provided 32% of Ireland’s electricity in September, and the volume of wind generated was up by 25% when compared to the same month last year. But we can do better. The development of renewable energy, as well as the grid infrastructure and planning reform required to supply it must accelerate. The progress made on the Planning and Development Bill, as approved by Cabinet this week, has been widely welcomed, but reforming the planning system will achieve little if the resources are not in place.”
Wind Energy Ireland has called on the government to ensure that An Bord Pleanála, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) and local authorities involved in the environmental assessment of renewable energy will have the appropriate funds to hire sufficient expert staff to meet the demand on their services.
Cunniffe added, “Without this vital investment, we will fail to grow the amount of indigenous energy we produce, fail to continue decreasing wholesale electricity prices and put at risk our ability to reach our legally binding climate targets. The more renewable energy we can connect, the more secure we make Ireland’s energy supply and the greater protection we have from international markets.”