Northern Ireland ahead of target with 40% renewable energy

Northern Ireland is beating its green energy target as more than 40 per cent of the electricity consumed there comes from renewable sources. The news came as Ervia, owner of utilities Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland, and Norwegian group Equinor (formerly Statoil), said they were weighing a plan to trap and store carbon dioxide from power plants. Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy published figures on Thursday showing that 44 per cent of the electricity used in the region came from locally based renewable sources in the 12 months ended June 30th, 2019. This is ahead of a deadline set in 2011 by the Stormont government, which aimed to have 40 per cent of all electricity used in Northern Ireland come from renewable sources by 2020. The department’s figures also show that on average, renewable electricity accounted for 40.7 per cent of the power used in Northern Ireland during every month of 2018. Wind generated more than 85 per cent of the green electricity used there in the 12 months to the end of June this year.