We are in a race to get more renewable power into our homes so that we can end our dependency on expensive imported fossil fuels. But we are not making the most of the renewable energy we have already built.
More and more Irish wind farms are frequently forced to turn off because the country’s electricity grid is increasingly constrained.
When they are switched off, or obliged to reduce the amount of power they are generating, they are typically replaced with gas generation which means higher wholesale electricity prices and more carbon emissions.
To fix this problem we must urgently strengthen our electricity grid to ensure Irish families and businesses can get the clean, affordable and secure power that wind farms provide.
What is a ‘constraint’?
Think of our electricity grid as similar to Ireland’s road network. Some roads are bigger than others and in better condition. There are roads notorious for traffic congestion and roads that often seem to have no one on them. A road can even be closed for maintenance or repair.
The electricity network is a lot like that. The overhead lines, underground cables, and substations make up the road network along which Ireland’s electricity travels from where it is generated in a wind farm to where it is needed – our homes, factories and communities.
There are wind farms all over Ireland, but the majority are in the west, south-west and north-west of the country where wind conditions are best. This means that on a very windy day a lot of electricity is being generated in these places but what happens if there is so much electricity that there is not enough capacity on the local network to transport it to where it is needed?
When this happens there is a constraint on the transmission system, similar to a traffic jam on the roads. There is no problem producing the electricity, there is just no way to transport it, and so wind farms are instructed to reduce the amount of power they are generating or to switch off.
The problem is getting worse
Wind Energy Ireland has worked with MullanGrid to track annual constraint levels in Ireland since 2016. The data is summarised in the graph below.
Regional Wind Farm Constraints 2016-2023
Since 2016 constraint levels in the north-west, for example, have risen from 2.3 per cent to 11.4 per cent. In the west, it has risen from 0.3 per cent to 8.8 per cent while in the north we are seeing the highest levels of constraints going from 2.3 per cent in 2016 to 14.6 per cent in 2023.
This is all lost energy. This electricity could have been used to cook meals, run milking parlours, charge cars or even just to boil the kettle but instead these wind farms had to stop generating, or reduce generation, and instead that electricity came from gas.
The more constraints increase, the more carbon emissions we produce and the higher our bills because of the gas generation brought on to replace the constrained wind farms.
As well as affecting existing wind farms these constraint levels can also prevent the construction of new wind farms.
How do we reduce constraints on the electricity grid?
In Shaping Our Electricity Future 1.1, EirGrid sets out proposed upgrades for the 110 kV grid in the north-west which could reduce constraints significantly.
But upgrading the existing infrastructure will not be enough. We need to build new grid as well to accommodate more renewable energy. We need to build a grid that is fit for the 21st century, and that not only addresses today’s constraints, but is future-proofed for Ireland’s clean energy future.
What can you do to help?
A strong electricity grid, which can supply each of us with the clean energy we need every day, is as essential to modern Ireland as food and water. It means cleaner power (by enabling more renewables onto the electricity grid) and more affordable power (by reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels.)
But it won’t happen unless we want it to happen. Take action now by signing our open letter to our political leaders. Tell them we need to #BuildourGrid.
