Ireland’s dreams of exporting wind power are plausible

They say it is an ill wind that blows no one any good. But rising temperatures—and the need to slash Europe’s dependence on Russian energy—are a boon for Ireland’s ambitions to become a big exporter of electricity. The country produces no nuclear energy, oil or coal, and only enough gas to meet some 30% of its needs. But it has one of the windiest coasts on the planet. “Wind is Ireland’s oil,” said Micheal Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, at Davos this year. “Certainly, by the mid-2030s we want to be exporting energy.”