A new report from Wind Energy Ireland has found that the cost savings from supporting wind and solar farms have outweighed the supports needed to build them.

Since 2000, wind and solar projects have saved Irish electricity customers €840m, according to the analysis carried out by energy specialists Baringa.

Baringa research found that the savings produced by Ireland’s reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels exceeded the expense of support schemes, grid network development and other costs. Wind farms were credited with just under 98 per cent of these net savings with solar farms contributing the remainder.

Progress

Ireland’s wind generation capacity has grown since 2000 from 117 MW to more than 5,000 MW installed across the country, and more than 600 MW of solar generation has been connected in recent years. Last year, according to data from Green Collective, nearly 40 per cent of the country’s electricity came from renewables.

Emissions

The analysis has also found that the scaling up of renewable energy sources since 2000 has also cut Irish spending on fossil fuels by €7.4 billion and prevented the production of more than 47 million tonnes of CO2 up to the end of 2023.

Further savings

The report also predicts that, if gas prices remain high and if Ireland reaches the target of 80% renewable electricity set out in the Climate Action Plan, consumer bills could fall by a further €610 million per year from 2030.