Cork County Council earned €7.6m in commercial rates from windfarms last year

Cork County Council was one of the local authorities which shared €74.8m in commercial rates from windfarms last year, up €5.6m on 2024 figures, according to a survey of Wind Energy Ireland data.

Cork County Council received €7.6m, accounting for 5.5% of their received rates, while in Mayo, which gets €7.4m in rates, the money received accounts for 16.2% of their total take.

In many local authorities, income from windfarms accounts for between 15% and 30% of all commercial rates collected, making councils among the biggest financial beneficiaries of wind energy developments.

Kerry receives the largest amount, collecting just over €11m annually from windfarms, equivalent to more than a fifth of its total rates income.

The county also has the highest installed wind energy capacity in the State at 795MW — enough to power up to 800,000 average-sized homes.

Enough power generated for 380,000 homes

Its windfarms generate around 1,589GWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the yearly needs of more than 380,000 homes.

The second biggest council beneficiary is Offaly, which rakes in nearly €8m in rates every year, accounting for 30.9% of their total rate receipts.

As counties Kildare, Longford, and Westmeath don’t have any wind energy capacity, they receive nothing in rates.

Fingal County Council in north Dublin receives the lowest amount in rates from its 1.3MW capacity, totalling just €5,137 last year. It has the lowest capacity in the country.

Councils aren’t the only recipients of millions in direct funding from wind power companies. Communities  living around windfarms nationwide also receive millions in funding every year. They received €6.5m in 2024.