Study claims big wind energy savings

WIND ENERGY could save Irish customers up to €100 million per year in electricity costs by 2020, according to a study of the sector’s viability released yesterday by the Irish Wind Energy Association.

The report, by international consultants Redpoint Energy, found that an 11.5 per cent reduction in wholesale electricity prices would be achieved if wind accounted for up to 45 per cent of the power generation mix by 2020.

This directly contradicts a claim by the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) that households and businesses would be hit by higher bills under a Government target to generate at least 40 per cent of electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020.

The IAE said the planned development of wind farms across the country and offshore to generate more than three times wind energy’s current level of 1,500 megawatts could cost more than €10 billion and should now be halted.

However, the new report, The Impact of Wind on Pricing Within the Single Electricity Market, found that wind power “is already having a significant impact on energy costs, with the total savings to consumers set to reach €36.6 million this year”.

Under the scenarios studied by Redpoint, consumers were shown to pay less through the subsidies for wind energy than the savings they make from lower wholesale electricity prices. Wind energy currently accounts for about 12 per cent of electricity needs.

Explaining the forecast savings to consumers of almost €100 million a year, the study said this was due to the reduction in wholesale prices of €256 million greatly outweighing the support of €52 million and the annual costs of new network of €108 million in 2020.