Despite a severe economic downturn, Ireland has held to its ambitious energy targets to move itself towards a low-carbon economy. But to reach its goals and break its heavy use of imported fossil fuels, Ireland must invest even more in renewable technologies, expand grid integration and improve energy efficiency, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a review of Irish energy policies.
“At a time when many governments are shying away from their commitments to clean energy, Ireland has courageously resisted the temptation to scale back its own,” comments IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven. “A lot has been achieved, yet there is more to do. Now is not the time for complacency.”
Ireland, whose location gives it some of the best wind and ocean energy resources in Europe, plans to produce 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, one of the highest targets in the world.
The second pillar of Ireland’s decarbonisation strategy relies on the development and optimisation of energy efficiency and research and development into ‘demand-side management’ technologies. The National Energy Efficiency Action Plan outlines 90 measures and actions to be implemented in order to achieve 20% energy savings as of 2020.
Funding of energy-focused research and development is strong, despite Ireland’s recent economic downturn, and the country has become a world leader for smart grid deployment, a key means to reaching ambitious targets in the deployment of clean generation and end-use technologies, such as variable renewable energies and electric vehicles.
Ireland is highly dependent on imported oil and gas. While the push to develop renewable energies is commendable, the report warns, it will result in an increased reliance on natural gas, as gas-fired power plants will be required to provide flexibility in electricity supply when wind power is unavailable. Two-thirds of Ireland’s electricity already comes from gas-fired generation, which adds to energy security concerns, particularly as 93% of its gas supplies come from a single transit point inScotland. The country must successfully develop a range of gas and electricity infrastructure projects and market solutions while continuing to integrate its energy markets with regional neighbours.
Regional integration is an ongoing development, in line with the European Union’s target model. Irelandhas successfully implemented the all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM) with Northern Ireland, fostering genuine competition among suppliers. Increased interconnection with the island of Great Britain is underway. In the gas market, the governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland are developing a Common Arrangements for Gas (CAG) framework.
Dear Editor,
What has our Government done to encourage investment in energy sources that offer an alternative to imports?
For example there are companies in Ireland who invested heavily in locally sourced biomass products (wood pellet), just as the industry was finding it’s feet the Government removed all incentives to home owners to switch over to wood pellet as a fuel source.
There were mistakes made in the early grant scheme, many of these mistakes were flagged by stake holders as the scheme progressed however few if any of the suggestions were taken on board by government or its agencies.
Today instead of witnessing an home grown industry expanding we are looking at significant job losses and an industry that is literally dying on its feet.
Surely such a record can not be viewed in a positive light by others who may be considering investing in alternative energy sources for the twenty six counties when they can can see the positive action being taken in Northern Ireland and the UK.
We will not replace all fossil fuels overnight however by using the many fuel sources already in place and common sense approaches to getting the most out of the fuels used for generating electricity, home and industry heating there are substantial savings to be made for both the consumer and the countries balance of payments.
While gas is an excellent fuel we do not have enough of it to meet even a fraction of our needs in Ireland, our natural alternatives are wind and biomass, perhaps there is something positive to be gained from implementing small local systems and building on the knowledge gained?