Wind energy provided nearly a third of Ireland's electricity in October, new figures from Wind Energy Ireland show today.
This means that Irish wind farms have supplied 33% of the country's electricity demand in the first 10 months of this year.
Wind Energy Ireland said that while the share of demand met by wind energy last month was 31%, moderate winds meant that the amount of electricity generated by wind was down when compared with the same month last year.
Today's figures also show that while wholesale electricity prices rose again last month due to high fossil-fuel costs, there was still nearly €70 in the difference between the wholesale cost of electricity on the windiest days and those days when we had to rely almost entirely on fossil fuels - €101.66 and €170.79 respectively.
The average wholesale price for a megawatt-hour of electricity in October was €125.52, a 12% increase when compared from September.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said that while wind generation figures last month were lower than previous Octobers, the country was still on track for a strong performance from wind energy in 2023 with wind generation so far this year nearly 3% higher than last year.
"The quicker we can build wind farms, the sooner we can rely on Irish renewable energy to provide our electricity and the sooner we can cut our carbon emissions. The more renewable energy we can connect, the more secure we make Ireland's energy supply," he added.
He also said that electricity generated from Irish wind energy replaces imported fossil fuels.
"The more wind we can get on the system, the less we have to rely on expensive imported gas and the more we can do to help households struggling with high energy costs," he added.
