Note: This article was updated May 2 2024 to incorporate revised biomass figures reflecting Edenderry's conversion to biomass and again July 17 2024 to incorporate adjusted solar SCADA data from Eirgrid.
Summary
Renewables met 42.5% of Ireland's (all-island) electricity demand during January 2024:
- 36% wind
- 3.3% hydro
- 2.7% biomass/biogas
- 0.5% solar
Following a cold start to the year with correspondingly low wind speeds, the second half of the month saw back to back storms: Isha (January 20-21), quickly followed by Jocelyn (January 23).
Wind generation was significantly higher during this stormy second half of the month, equivalent to 46.5% of demand vs. 23.6% during the first half. Wind output exceeded 4GW on several days during this period and these are highlighted below in red.
Source: Green Collective; EirGrid; SEMO
Storage discharge now reaching 400MW with the help of batteries
As first reported here in November 2023, battery plants have been working alongside pumped storage to help meet peak electricity demand on the Irish grid.
This has continued in January, with battery discharge exceeding 100MW on several occasions and peaking at 149MW on January 17.
While the majority of days with high battery discharge saw low winds, a peak of 98MW on January 23 during Storm Joceyln is notable.
We are now seeing the combined output of Turlough Hill and battery plants exceed 400MW at their peak, or approximately 6% of early evening peak electricity all-island January demand.
Source: Green Collective; EirGrid; SEMO
Republic of Ireland demand record
As reported elsewhere, the Republic of Ireland set a new record for electricity demand on January 18: 5573MW. All-island demand on this day peaked at 6980MW, just short of the current all-island demand record of 7015MW set December 14 2022.
Wind generation by county
Green Collective can now track wind generation at a county level. Kerry is the clear leader during January, with at least 155GWh generated there from wind power during January. This is equivalent to approximately 4% of the month's all-island electricity demand.
This figure can rise considerably during windy periods. For example, early on the morning of January 23 as Storm Jocelyn moved in, Kerry wind farms were at one point producing approximately 450MW, equivalent to fully 10% of the island's electricity demand at the time.
Source: Green Collective; EirGrid
Year-on-year context
Wind generation during January 2024 totalled 1.38TWh, the fourth highest amount yet seen in Ireland during January. January 2024 also places fourth in terms of the percent of electricity demand met by wind power, at 36%.
One record set this year is the highest ever wind output for January: 4573MW on the evening of January 19, not far from December 2023's new all-time record of 4629MW.
Source: Green Collective; EirGrid