The 37% share of electricity demand amounted to more than 2.8MWh

Wind’s share in Ireland’s electricity rose 2% to 37% in the first quarter of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018, according to the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).

IWEA said the 37% figure, up on 35% in Q1 2018, is the best quarter performance yet.

The result forms part of the what will be regular quarterly reports on the industry’s performance.

The total installed capacity of Ireland’s wind farms has now risen to 3.7GW.

Two wind farms were built in Q1 of this year, amounting to 33MW of new capacity addition, according to the Q1 2019 report.

IWEA chief executive David Connolly said: “This is our best quarter one performance ever.

“We had a very strong start to the year for wind energy, particularly in February when energy produced the most electricity, even surpassing natural gas, so we hope to build on this in the coming months.”

According to Connolly, wind energy is an “Irish success story”, driving down electricity costs for consumers, cutting millions of tonnes of annual carbon dioxide emissions and enhancing energy security by reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports.

The 37% share of electricity demand amounted to more than 2.8 million megawatt hours (MWh), compared to 2.7 million MWh in the first quarter of 2018.

The average Irish household uses approximately 4.5MWh of electricity every year.