Excerpt and Photo Credit from irishexaminer.com
Since the commissioning of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric plant in 1929, Ireland has a long history of commitment to investment in green energy
Ireland’s leadership in renewable energy is not new. The commissioning of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric plant in 1929 placed the State among the pioneers of large-scale renewable generation.
Nearly a century later, that legacy remains in operation, contributing a modest but symbolic share of national capacity. Yet it is onshore wind that now defines Ireland’s renewable energy landscape, both in scale and in strategic importance.
With more than 300 operational wind farms and over 5GW of installed capacity, onshore wind is, by a considerable margin, the most mature form of intermittent renewable electricity deployed in Ireland today.