months of 2020, wind provided 49% of electricity demand, and a peak recorded output from wind power of 4,471 MW was delivered on 12 February 2021. Wind is now the second largest source of electricity generation after natural gas, which accounted for 52% of electricity generated in 2018. Drivers of wind power expansion Concerns over energy security (Ireland has an estimated 15.4m tonnes of coal reserves, peat bogs, offshore oil and gas fields, and has extensive wind resources), climate change mitigation policies, and compliance with EU Directives for market liberalisation, have all shaped wind power development in Ireland. In the Directive 2001/77/EC, otherwise known as the RES-E Directive, the European Union stated a goal to have 22% of the total energy consumed by member states to be produced from renewable energy resources by 2010. As a result, Ireland, in a report titled "Policy Consideration for Renewable Electricity to 2010", made the commitment to have 4% of its total energy consumption come from renewable energy resources by 2002 and 13.2% by 2010. The Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources (DCMNR) founded the Renewable Energy Group (REG) which established the short term analysis group (STAG) to investigate a means of accomplishing this goal. To meet the 2010 target of 13.2%, 1,432 MW of electricity will need to be generated from renewable resources with 1,100 MW being generated from wind resources both onshore and offshore. State financial support State financial support for the national electricity sector, and particular technologies, has been influenced by a slow move towards liberalisation, and concerns for energy security and climate change mitigation. Ireland uses an industry subsidy known as the Public Service Obligation (PSO) to support the generation of electricity from sustainable, renewable and indigenous sources, including wind. The PSO levy is charged to all electricity customers. As of April 2020, for residential consumers, the current PSO levy is €38.68 per year inclusive of VAT, and is displayed on the typical two-monthly electricity bill as €5.68 (€2.84 x 2) + 13.5% VAT. The PSO levy funds the government's main mechanisms to support the generation of electricity from sustainable, renewable and indigenous sources. These mechanisms have shifted from the initial use of competitive auctions in the late 1990s, to a renewable energy feed-in tariff (REFiT) from 2006 to 2015, and back to a new renewable energy auction scheme as of 2020. Ireland's initial use of competitive auction from