Britain and Ireland have joined together in an effort to encourage renewable energy and make the most of Ireland’s natural wind resources. The Irish Wind Energy Association welcomed the agreement and chief executive Dr Michael Walsh says it’s a milestone moment for maximising Ireland’s wind potential.

While Dr Walsh said it’s too early to give any specifics of how much renewable energy would benefit from the deal, he revealed that around 28,000 jobs would be created in £1.6bn annual export industry.

The deal will capitalise on the UK and Ireland’s natural wind supply as a viable way of creating renewable energy. Renewable energy is particularly environmentally friendly as no carbon emissions are released during production, so global warming fears will be reduced. And as 40% of Europe’s wind blows over the UK, there’s no danger of production falling short.

The UK’s Minister of State for Energy, Charles Hendry, was mentioned as one of the key contributors to the successful completion of the deal by Walsh. The deal will also facilitate opportunities for the incorporation of UK and Irish markets.

All EU countries are expected to generate a certain amount of renewable energy by 2020 and Dr Walsh says Ireland will meet its 16% and even exceed those targets. Other renewable energy products that’ll be utilised over the next decade are solar panels, geothermal systems, biomass boilers and hydroelectricity sites. Together these renewables will help eradicate the need for fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil.

While large-scale government projects will power thousands of homes, you can generate your own electricity with smaller domestic products. By installing solar panels of heat pumps, you’ll benefit from free energy and reduced carbon emissions. You could also be eligible for the government’s Feed-in tariff scheme, which pays for every unit of electricity generated by renewables.