Benefits
National and EU Targets
The Government published the Climate Action Plan in 2021, outlining the decision to increase renewable electricity production from wind and solar up to 80 per cent by 2030 and establishing Ireland as a climate neutral economy by 2050.
This plan has set a target of up to 8GW of onshore wind to be supplied to the national grid by 2030. The proposed Carrow Wind Farm project is, in part, a response to the challenges of climate change and ensuring a secure supply of Ireland’s future energy needs.
The production of renewable energy from the Carrow Wind Farm will assist in achieving the Government’s and EU’s stated goals.
Environmental and Economic Benefits
Clean energy - Generate renewable, carbon-neutral electricity.
Reduce Ireland’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Reduce energy prices - In 2023 the average price of electricity on the wholesale market on the windiest days was almost half the price of wind produced on the least windy days (€75.94 versus €148.63 – Wind Energy Ireland). Wind drives down the price of power by pushing expensive fossil fuel generators off the system. Without it, we would have to depend more on costly gas imports which would increase your bills.
39% of Ireland’s electricity was from wind in 2023, the equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 3 million Irish families, and 53% in December 2023. That’s the number 1 year on record for wind generation.
On December 6th, 2023, Ireland generated 4,629MW of wind energy instantaneously, surpassing the previous daily record set in February 2022.
This increased capacity of wind energy helped to reduce spending on imported gas for electricity generation by €1.3billion.
Displacement of carbon emissions - Wind energy saved 4 million tonnes of CO2 in 2020, more than every other form of renewable energy in Ireland combined. The amount of CO2 emitted for each unit of electricity produced in Ireland is falling by more than 11 per cent annually because of wind.
Job Creation - Research from KPMG has confirmed more than 5,000 people are working in the Irish onshore wind energy industry and this number is expected to rise to more than 7,000 by the end of the year. Thousands more jobs will be created this decade as we build our first new offshore wind farms.
Wind keeps money at home - In 2019 and 2020 together wind energy cut our fossil fuel import bill by a combined €680 million. That is money that stays in Ireland, supporting Irish jobs and communities.