The board of Wind Energy Ireland has appointed Noel Cunniffe as the trade association's new CEO.
Mr Cunniffe joined Wind Energy Ireland in March 2019 as the organisation’s Head of Policy and has served as Acting CEO since the departure of David Connolly earlier this year.
The organisation’s nearly 200 members include all of the country’s leading wind energy companies, including ESB, SSE, Coillte, Greencoat, Statkraft and Brookfield, and together employs more than 5,000 people across Ireland.
Last year wind energy provided more than 36% of Ireland’s electricity.
"We are delighted to announce Noel’s appointment as the new CEO of Wind Energy Ireland," said Peter Lynch, Chairperson of Wind Energy Ireland and Managing Director of Coillte's Renewable Energy division.
"Our target for the industry, in support of the Government’s climate policy, is that by 2025 our members are providing more than half of Ireland’s electricity demand from wind energy.
"We look forward to Noel taking a lead role in enabling this important transition to a decarbonised future," he said.
Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, said they have the resources, the pipeline and the skills to not just achieve their 2030 renewable energy targets, but to surpass them.
"We are already world leaders in the development of onshore wind energy," he said.
"Over the next decade, working closely with local communities, we will double our installed onshore capacity.
"This will be joined by an offshore wind energy industry that will transform our energy systems and revitalise coastal communities across the island.
"To make this happen we need to focus on building a transmission system and an electricity market for a future where most of Ireland's power comes from wind and solar," he said.
