IRELAND

Ireland’s prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean give a feasible wind resource that has been estimated to be as high as 179 GW, or some 40 times the country’s current generating capacity. However, the accessible resource is about 2 190 MW and, in reality, the practicable resource is estimated to be 812 MW.

This abundant wind supply began to be utilised, albeit rather poorly, in the early 1980’s with several demonstration schemes. The detailed investigations that followed included the establishment of the Irish Wind Atlas and, in the mid-1990’s, the Government’s Alternative Energy Requirement (AER I) competition. Under AER I, prospective generators competed for Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s) to sell electricity to the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). The competition was open to a range of renewable energies for contracts of 10-15 years’ duration, not extending beyond 2010 (all projects were to completed near end-1997). Wind energy gained ten contracts for 73 MW: seven were eventually built.

The second competition (AER II) excluded wind energy but AER III, launched in March 1997, included a target of 90 MW for new wind energy projects. The results, announced in April 1998, granted PPA’s to 17 projects with a combined capacity of 137 MW, to be located in Counties Cork, Donegal, Kerry, Roscommon and Sligo. The PPA’s were for 15 years’ duration, not extending beyond 2014.

A Government green paper on sustainable energy released in September 1999 not only reiterated Ireland’s determination to promote renewable energies and, in particular, the utilisation of wind power, but also dramatically increased the target figures for the period to 2005. It is now expected that wind energy will contribute the bulk of 500 MWe of additional generating capacity (replacing an earlier target of 155 MWe). If this target is met, wind energy will then account for 10.7% of projected total installed electricity generating capacity.

The first commercial wind plant at (Bellacorick, County Mayo) was commissioned in 1992. The 21 turbines have a combined capacity of 6.45 MW. It remained the only windfarm supplying the grid until 1997, when a further six were commissioned (under AER I and the EU’s Thermie Programme), with a combined generating capacity of 44 MW. Since then a further five have been constructed, including the 4.62 MW Curabwee plant in County Cork, the first under AER III. By mid-2000, the 12 operating Irish windfarms had a combined capacity of 69 MW, representing 1.4% of total installed electricity generating capacity.

Of the 17 projects awarded under AER III (excluding the Curabwee plant) nine have secured planning, three have failed at the planning stage and the remaining four are at various stages of the planning process.

It was expected that the eight stations under construction in 2000 would bring the end-2000 total installed capacity to 117 MW.

COUNTRY NOTES (WIND ENERGY)

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