What is the current sate of wind power in Ireland?
Over the past ten years wind power generation in the republic of Ireland has increased from two wind farms producing 20 MW (1 megawatt = 1,000 kilowatts) to 49 wind farms producing 493MW as at the end of December 2005. This provides enough green electricity to supply almost 350,000 homes. Whilst wind farms to date have mainly been developed in the windiest areas of the western seaboard counties (the first commercial wind farm in Ireland was at Ballacorrick, Co. Mayo in 1992), an increasing number of projects are appearing in all regions of Ireland, including an offshore wind farm on the Arklow bank of the coast of Wicklow.
