Education
Promoting science at school
Global Wind Day
About Global Wind Day
Global Wind Day promotes the use of wind energy as a clean, efficient way of generating electricity and tackling climate change.
It was organised by the Global Wind Energy Council and the European Wind Energy Association and took place on 23rd June 2009.
To celebrate Global Wind Day, ESB International opened Carnsore Point Wind Farm to the public for a day of educational talks, tours and fun-filled activities.
Carnsore Point Wind Farm
Located on a very dramatic site - 200 acres overlooking the sea at Carnsore Point in Wexford - this wind farm been operating since 2002 and is connected to the national grid at Killinick substation.
Facts and figures
- It consists of 14 wind turbines, each 75 metres in height
- It powers 9,000 homes in Wexford;
- It saves 30,000 tonnes of C02 emissions compared to a coal-fired plant with the same output
- It saves 100 tonnes of NoX, 400 tonnes of SoX and 7,200 tonnes of fossil fuel imports.
Public open day at Carnsore
Over 2,500 people came to Carnsore Point Wind Farm on Global Wind Day for a tour of the site and its wind turbines.
Children's activities and practical demonstrations on electricity production rounded out the day, giving the public insight to all aspects of wind farm development.
"It was a great opportunity for people to understand how wind energy is harnessed and used to produce electricity to power homes and businesses in the locality,” said David Farrell, ESBI Manager of Renewables.
“The use of wind power will help Ireland reduce our dependence on fuel imports and help us meet our climate change targets. In Ireland, we have one of the best wind resources in Europe, so it is fitting that we are taking the lead in developing our wind generation industry here."
"By involving children, we hope we can foster a lifelong interest in renewable energy and ultimately encourage some to look towards a career in this area", he added.
ESB and renewable energy
ESB is working hard to make the company carbon-neutral by 2035. Half of our €22m investment is going towards promoting renewable energy generation.
As part of this, we are working on securing 600 megawatt of wind generation in Ireland by 2012.