The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has today (5 August 2009) welcomed the new record set over the weekend for the amount of power generated by Ireland’s wind farms. At times over the week, wind provided enough power for over 650,000 homes, for the first time ever.
According to EirGrid, the body that operates the transmission system, the output of Ireland’s wind farms peaked at 999MW last Friday, July 31st, generating enough energy to power over 650,000 homes. High levels of wind at times over the weekend resulted in 39 per cent of national electricity demand being met from this resource.
This indicates that Ireland is on the way to meeting our national renewables target for 2010. The Commission continues to work to ensure that Ireland’s renewable resources are captured and utilised in an efficient manner to the benefit of energy customers. In recent years, the Commission has sanctioned the connection of over 5000 MW of wind to come onto the system in the coming years.
Further information regarding this record can be found on EirGrid’s website (www.eirgrid.com)