Renewables provided 44% of electricity in December
New figures from EirGrid, the operator and developer of the country's electricity grid, reveals that 44% of electricity in December came from renewable sources.
EirGrid said the majority of this renewable energy came from windfarms, accounting for 39% of all electricity used in Ireland. Total generation from wind energy amounted to 1243 GWh (Gigawatt hours), compared to 1067 GWh in November.
Meanwhile, gas generation accounted for 38% of all electricity used in December, with 17% imported via interconnection.
The overall electricity system demand stood at 3234 GWh for December, up from 3088 GWh in November, Eirgrid said.
Demand for electricity usually peaks between 5pm and 6pm on winter evenings when people get home from work and put heating and other appliances on.
But EirGrid noted that on Christmas Day, there is a significant shift with the peak moving to lunchtime, because of ovens and other appliances being switched on to prepare dinner.
This was observed again by EirGrid in the National Control Centre on Christmas Day, with demand peaking at approximately 2.15pm.
But overall demand across the country dropped as shops, schools and offices are closed.
Provisional data shows that 55% of the electricity generated on 25 December came from renewables, Eigrid said.
December also saw a new record set on the transmission system for a second month in a row, with battery discharge reaching 396 MW on Monday, 15 December. This exceeds the recent record of 362 MW on Tuesday, 25 November.
Diarmaid Gillespie, Director of System Operations at EirGrid, said that similar to what we have seen in recent months, December was another strong month for renewable energy with us again seeing a significant amount of wind generation contributing to the overall fuel mix for the month.
