POWER'S A REAL BREEZE

A QUARTER of Ireland's homes are being powered by the wind - but that could be ALL of them in just five years' time.

During the windiest days of last year, 500,000 of the 1.9million houses connected to the electricity grid, were powered by the wind.

There are 70 wind farms connected to the electricity grid and Eirgrid, the company which manages it, wants to add another 100 wind farms in the next five years.

Eirgrid says electricity generation in Ireland is moving toward wind power because it is the cheapest and most developed form of renewable energy available. But traditional electricity generation from sources like coal and peat are still needed as a back up on days when winds are low.

Eirgrid spokesman Michael Kelly said: "We anticipate adding another 3,000megawatts of wind power to the grid, four times as much as there is now.

"3,000megawatts would be enough to supply electricity to nearly every house in the country, if the wind was blowing all the time. Wind conditions are good for the generation of electricity about 35 per cent of the time."

Advantages of wind farms include no importation of fuel, cheaper long-term energy generation, and total self-sufficiency for the country's energy needs.

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