Ireland's wind farms provided 35% of the country's electricity in the first five month of the year, new data shows.
The latest report from Wind Energy Ireland shows that in May, Kerry was knocked off the top spot as the country's leading source of wind energy for the first time since this data started being published at county level.
Cork took the lead last month, producing more wind power than any other county with 76 GWh.
It was followed by Kerry, Galway, Tipperary and Tyrone.
At 21%, the share of electricity demand met by wind farms in May was below the normal average for wind energy, but Wind Energy Ireland said the shortfall was partially compensated by a record month for solar power.
"While the amount of electricity generated by wind farms last month was lower than previous months, the good news is that renewable sources combined, such as wind and solar power, provided nearly 30% of Ireland's electricity in May," said Justin Moran, Director of External Affairs at Wind Energy Ireland.
"Every time a wind turbine or solar panel is generating electricity, it is reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, helping to push down wholesale electricity prices and increasing our supply of clean energy to power our homes and local communities," he added.
Today's report shows that the average wholesale price of electricity in Ireland per megawatt-hour (MWh) during May 2024 was €107.76.
Prices on days with the most wind power saw the average cost of a MWh of electricity decrease to €88.08, rising to €118.77 on days when we relied almost entirely on fossil fuels.
