In the third quarter of 2025, An Coimisiún Pleanála approved just one new wind farm, representing only around 7% of the capacity needed to keep Ireland on track with its Climate Action Plan targets, according to the latest quarterly report from Wind Energy Ireland.

The approved wind farm has a capacity of 46 MW. Wind Energy Ireland estimates that to meet the 9,000 MW of onshore wind energy required by 2030, An Coimisiún Pleanála would have needed to approve 665 MW during this period.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, expressed concern over the slowdown in planning approvals: "Irish people want clean, affordable and secure energy. That is what wind farms deliver but we will need more of them to provide the power Irish families, businesses and communities demand.

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"It is disappointing that quarters two and three of this year have been so bad for planning decisions on renewable energy projects from An Coimisiún Pleanála.

"Before we can build new wind farms, they have to make it through the planning system and right now, we are not getting nearly enough projects approved to get back on track for 2030.

"The reality is projects are going in for planning in much greater amounts than we’re getting decisions which is creating a growing backlog and undermining efforts to connect Ireland’s most affordable source of new electricity generation."

Despite the slowdown in approvals, the report highlights a significant pipeline of new projects, with 613 MW of wind energy applications submitted in Q3 alone, including ten new projects to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Cunniffe added: "While the last quarter saw a slowdown in decisions on renewable planning applications, it is encouraging to see such a high volume of new wind projects entering the planning system with 10 new projects submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála in the last quarter alone.

"It shows Ireland has a significant pipeline of projects and our members are committed to delivering cleaner, more affordable electricity, which benefits consumers today and future generations to come.

"It is vital that we build back up the momentum through the final quarter of 2025 so that we can see more renewable energy projects getting into construction and providing the clean power our country needs."