Renewables provide 44% of electricity in December

Provisional data from EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid, shows that 44% of electricity in December came from renewable sources.

According to EirGrid, 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. On Christmas Day, however, 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 2.15 pm. 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.

Meanwhile, while celebrations on New Year’s Eve take place late into the evening and night in the lead up to midnight, EirGrid observed the electricity peak on 31 December at 5.15 pm, in line with most other evenings in Winter.

With 44% of electricity across the month of December coming from renewables, the majority of this 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.

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.

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.

Official metered data shows that in November, 41% of electricity was generated from renewables.

Diarmaid Gillespie, Director of System Operations at EirGrid, said:

“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.”

About the data

The data is based on 15-minute SCADA readings (MW). The data referenced above is Ireland-only.

Data is provisional and unmetered data, based on real-time information.

Average Fuel Mix is a representation of the System Generation fuel mix and net imports across the power system. The “Renewables” category includes wind, solar, hydro and biomass sources. It excludes some non-centrally monitored generation (e.g. small-scale combined heat and power and microgeneration).

System demand represents the electricity production required to meet national electricity consumption, including system losses, but net of generators’ requirements.