The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) expects €500 million will be spent on the building of new wind farms in the country over the next four years.

The lobby group for wind farm developers will publish its forecast figures at the annual IWEA conference today, and it seems the construction industry will benefit as Ireland increases its renewable energy output.

Total investment in onshore wind energy of €2.7 billion is expected to be required for us to meet our 2020 environmental targets.

Some €162 million will go to local advisory services, €108 million to landowners and €54 million on transport.

The two-day conference in Dublin will focus chiefly on how to attract investment for wind energy, as well as the regulatory and policy decisions that could be made to strengthen Ireland's allure.

Eirgird's Fintan Slye and outgoing Minister for Communications Alex White are just two of the speakers taking part.

Ireland rose to third in the world rankings of nations that used wind energy to generate electricity in 2015, largely owing to the extremely windy December weather.

A record 39% of Ireland's electricity demands were met by wind energy in that month, with the annual figure being 24%.