Ireland ranked 4th in world in use of electricity from wind energy
Previous : Next - 6th October 2009
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) announced today following the launch of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Energy Annual Report2008, that Ireland is now ranked fourth in the world in terms of contribution of wind energy to electricity use. Ireland, which supplies 8.7% of electricity demand from wind energy, is only behind Denmark (19.3%), Spain (11.7%) and Portugal (11.3%).
Key highlights for Ireland from the report show that:
The contribution of wind energy to electricity demand in Ireland increased from 6.8% in 2007 to 8.7% in 2008, and;
Installed wind power capacity in Ireland increased by 26% or 207MW from 794MW to 1002MW in 2008.
Another significant highlight shows that electrical output from wind increased by 29% worldwide and was enough to cover the equivalent of the total electrical consumption of Australia.
Commenting, Professor Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of SEI said: “Today’s announcement is further proof that Ireland is well on target to meeting our national renewable electricity target of 15% by 2010. The national and worldwide statistics demonstrate Ireland’s commitment to meeting the targets for renewable energy and that wind power has and will continue to establish itself as a major source of electricity. We look forward to Ireland increasing its rankings in the years to come.”
The IEA Wind Energy Report is available at: http://www.ieawind.org/AnnualReports_PDF/2008.html
SEI, which represents Ireland on the IEA Wind Implementing Agreement, contributed to the report, along with other IEA member countries. The report highlights the significant growth in the contribution of wind energy to world electricity supply. In 2008, 17GW of new wind energy generating capacity, or an additional 23%, was built in IEA Wind member countries bringing the total installed capacity to almost 92GW.
