Jan 4 2008
The amount of wind energy connected to the electricity grid on the island of Ireland is set to breach the 1,000MW threshold by the end of this year.
IWEA Chief Executive, Michael Walsh, said that this is a significant milestone on the road to a sustainable energy future for Ireland, and represents an investment of more than €1 billion from the renewable energy generation sector.
These latest figures are confirmed in a paper published this week by the Commission for Energy Regulation which reveals the significant potential for Ireland to meet its energy needs from renewable sources.
Mr. Walsh said: “It is clear that wind power is playing the central role in meeting our national renewable energy targets. Private investors in the wind energy sector are keen to move forward with their projects, but their commitment has to be matched with the delivery of the substantial network infrastructure that is needed to allow continued growth of our renewable wind energy resource.”
He said that the IWEA welcomes the start of the CER’s Gate 3 process, which kicks-off the next phase in Ireland’s drive to increase the power contribution from renewable sources. “This is critical to ensuring that Ireland stands up to its international commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions, which have been re-enforced at the recent Climate Change Conference in Bali and which again highlighted the very real urgency of measures to slow down climate change,” he said.