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Wind electricity generation helps moderate wholesale price – report
There was a €40 difference in the cost of wholesale electricity here in July between the days on which most energy was generated from wind and those with the least.
According to Wind Energy Ireland, the average wholesale cost of electricity was €267.19 per Megawatt Hour (MwH) during the month.
The price varied from €256.66 on the days on which most energy came from wind to €295.58 on the days with little or no wind power generation.
The wholesale cost of electricity has surged in the last year with the Russian invasion of Ukraine adding significantly to costs in recent months.
Much of it is down to the rising price of fossil fuels which has had a knock-on impact on international wholesale energy prices.
Energy majors have come in for criticism for the large profits they generated in recent months against the backdrop of a surge in energy prices globally.
According to the latest wind energy report from Wind Energy Ireland, wind energy provided just over a fifth – 21% – of Ireland’s electricity in July.
For the first seven months of the year, wind provided 34% of the country’s energy, the figures show.
“While figures in July are lower than previous months, this is in line with seasonal expectations. What is heartening to see is that wind energy met twice as much of the electricity demand this July as in July 2021, which is a significant increase,” Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland said.
The organisation welcomed the recent Government announcement that offshore wind generation targets were to be increased from 5GW to 7GW by 2030.
“Our members have a project pipeline that is significantly bigger than 7 GW,” Mr Cunniffe said.
“However, in order to meet these targets, our planning system must be urgently reformed and properly resourced to ensure that the renewable energy projects needed to cut our carbon emissions and drive down electricity bills can get built as quickly as possible,” he added.
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