The share of electricity produced by onshore wind in Ireland is “absolutely astonishing,” according to Wind Energy Ireland.

The representative body’s annual report shows that wind energy provided more than 36% of Ireland’s electricity last year.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Wind Energy Ireland CEO Dr David Connolly said Ireland gets the highest share of its electricity from onshore wind in the world.

“It is an absolutely astonishing figure to be honest,” he said.

“Just to give people a sense of perspective, Ireland is now number one in the world would you believe in terms of the share of onshore wind on a power system

“So, there is nobody else in the entire world providing more electricity from onshore wind than Ireland is right now.”

A windfarm at Carnsore Point in County Wexford, 24-04-2003. Image: RollingNews

He said the good news for Ireland is that this is “only the beginning.”

“Over the next decade, we don’t just have that fantastic onshore wind resource, we are also about to tap into an enormous and abundant offshore wind resource to help us along the way as well.

“So really, really amazing figures and we are really delighted with them.”

Emissions

Dr Connolly said Ireland is reducing more carbon emissions through wind energy than it would if we took all trucks and buses off the road.

“The whole purpose of building windfarms is to reduce carbon emissions and to put it into perspective, the really great news here is that wind energy is really making the most significant difference at reducing Ireland’s climate emissions,” he said.

“Wind energy on its own is saving more carbon emissions than every other form of renewable energy we have in Ireland combined. It is saving more carbon emissions than the equivalent of taking all trucks and buses off the road right now.

“So, about four million tonnes of carbon emissions each year is being saved by wind energy. If you look at all the trucks and buses on the road, they produce about three million tonnes so that is the scale of the carbon emissions we are taking out of the atmosphere.

“And this is only getting started there is still a lot more we can contribute over the next decade.”

Wind energy

Plans were announced last year for a major new offshore windfarm development in Dublin Bay and there are further plans for wind farms in the Celtic Sea in the coming years.

The Climate Minister Eamon Ryan has said new windfarm developments could support the generation of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of power generation in the Irish Sea by the end of next year.

Dr Connolly said the developments will also “really enhance our security of energy supply.”

“If you think about it, right now, four out of ten times you turn on a light switch that is local, Irish, indigenous, clean power that is powering your light switch,” he said.

He said the single biggest challenge over the next ten years will be building our electricity grid to “ensure we continue to be world leaders at integrating wind power.”

“We are already at the top table, number one in the world at integrating onshore wind, but we have to do more,” he said.

“We have to go from about 40% renewable electricity today to 70% renewable electricity over the next decade and the key to that will be developing an electricity grid that continues to keep us as world leaders.”

You can listen back here: