€352 million was invested in Irish wind energy projects last year.

This is enough clean electricity generation capacity to power an additional 144,000 homes nationally, according to figures compiled by the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA).

Wind energy output also hit a new record peak of 1967MW, and throughout 2014 Irish wind energy regularly delivered over 50% of Ireland's entire electricity demand, a trend which is set to continue into 2015.

A total of 222MW of new wind generation capacity was installed in 2014 in the Republic of Ireland delivering a total installed capacity of 2263MW, enough to potentially displace over 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 when compared to traditional fossil fuels. There are currently 188 wind farms operating in Ireland with the industry employing over 3,400 people nationwide.

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Kenneth Matthews, CEO of IWEA said: "2014 was another strong year for wind energy in Ireland with the sector delivering €350 million of vital investment, whilst at the same time helping us to reduce our dependency on foreign fossil fuels. As a country which is currently 89% dependent on foreign energy imports, costing Ireland approximately €6.7 billion per year, wind energy is helping Ireland to secure our own clean energy future, meeting 19% of our overall electricity demand in 2014, and is making a positive contribution to communities across the country."

(CD)