The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) has stated that the ESRI ‘Review of Irish Energy Policy’ is an important reminder that Ireland is far too dependent on importing its energy supply from other nations and needs to accelerate the move towards maximising our own resources. However, responding to the report, IWEA chief executive Dr Michael Walsh says that any reduction in current supports would undermine investment, cost jobs and result in Ireland potentially failing to meet its EU 2020 renewable energy targets.

“A reduction in supports would most definitely be a major setback for a sector that is more than justifying these same supports but is going to deliver savings to the consumer and create export revenue for Ireland in the future as well. A recent study by international energy analysts Redpoint on the Irish market showed that wind energy generation will deliver savings to Irish consumers of Eur100m by 2020. This demonstrates that wind generation does not add cost in today’s market let alone in the future when we can become an exporter of renewable energy,” he points out. “In that regard, any reduction in the current supports will be a set-back. It will deny investment and, therefore, potentially lead to higher prices, higher emissions, continued imported fuel dependence and a missed opportunity to create thousands of new jobs.

He continues: “This ESRI report, if anything, reaffirms that we are way too dependent on external sources of energy, with approximately 89% of our energy requirement being imported, and justifies the need for accelerating our wind energy programme. What we need now is to develop our own unique resources as quickly as possible to reduce this excessive dependency on what are long term unreliable and, from a price perspective, volatile international energy sources.”

Ireland has strong onshore and offshore wind resource yet last year, due to a lack of co-ordination, Ireland saw only 115MW of onshore wind built – approximately a third of what needs to be built annually to meet our targets. The IWEA is calling on the Government to introduce a co-ordinated energy and enterprise implementation plan to ensure we deliver as much capacity as possible and to develop a major income stream for Ireland by becoming a leading European exporter of wind energy.

“Specifically, we can ensure that Irish projects play a part in meeting the UK’s energy needs as we will have the resources to meet over 15% of the UK’s 2020 renewable requirements in a highly cost effective fashion for UK consumers. This would result in additional jobs and investment in Ireland and ongoing export revenues,” says Michael Walsh.

The economic crisis, the evolving EU policy context and recent developments in technology require new approaches to domestic energy policy, according to a new report – A Review of Irish Energy Policy – by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). While the objectives of policy remain the enhancement of competitiveness, ensuring a secure energy supply, and tackling the problem of climate change, the changing external context requires some new solutions.

According to the ESRI, one of the key successes of Irish energy policy in recent years was the implementation of the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland. It has ensured a secure supply of electricity at a competitive price since 2007. However, new developments at the EU level may require a change in the market structure to facilitate trading in electricity across the EU and it will be important to ensure that the enhanced integration of the Irish electricity system with that of North-Western Europe benefits Irish consumers.

Even if oil and gas prices result in higher electricity prices in the future, it is not sensible to use scarce resources to subsidise electricity prices, says the ESRI. Furthermore, any windfall gains from free electricity permits should accrue to the exchequer.

The report also points out that while current policy on promoting renewable electricity may be broadly consistent with the strategic aims of Irish energy policy, there are aspects of market design and of the support scheme for renewable energy (REFIT) which could result in substantial unnecessary costs falling on Irish consumers. The current support scheme for onshore wind is probably too generous – the additional sum payable where prices are high should be dropped for new investors, argues the report.

The ESRI also maintains that incentives for offshore wind and wave and tidal generation are not appropriate as it is premature to incentivise substantial investment in such technologies. This aspect of current policy could prove very expensive for the Irish economy, while bringing little or no environmental benefits. The Irish electricity market may also need to be adjusted to ensure that the level of investment in intermittent renewable generation is appropriate.

The ESRI report urges Ireland to contribute to a review of EU policy on renewables, as current European policy is likely to increase the cost of reducing emissions while providing limited security of supply advantages. While the costs to Ireland from the inappropriate configuration of EU policy may be small, the potential costs to the EU economy as a whole are likely to be significant. Ireland should also contribute to the next stage of EU policymaking to ensure that the approach to managing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is efficient from both an economic and an environmental point of view.

EU policy on energy security is developing in the light of changing circumstances. The extension of the current arrangements for cross-country co-operation in the event of a shortage of oil to the gas market is important for Ireland. It is to be welcomed that the EU is also developing clear rules on gas transmission through member states. Domestic security of energy supply requires that the Corrib gas field is brought to production as rapidly as possible, says the ESRI.

There has been a 50% reduction in the detection of E.coli in Irish public drinking water in the last two years, according to a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is the EPA’s third report on drinking water quality since new regulations were introduced in 2007 providing for a greater level of consumer protection.

The regulations require all local authorities to notify the EPA where there is a potential risk to human health, and to comply with directions given by the EPA.

Dara Lynott, director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement.

Commenting on the report Dara Lynott, director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, says: “The EPA targeted a reduction in the detection of E.coli in drinking water in recent years and today we are seeing the success of this programme with a 50% reduction in two years. Despite this reduction investment needs to be maintained to bring detection levels in line with other EU countries.”

Safety of Supply

Almost 250,000 monitoring tests against national and EU standards are carried out on the safety of our drinking water annually. In relation to the safety of our drinking water, this comprehensive testing regime shows:

* E. coli was detected at least once in 27 out of 944 public water supplies in 2009. This figure is down from 39 in the previous year (2008).

* The number of private group water schemes where E. coli was detected dropped from 134 in 2008 to 87 in 2009.  However, despite this improvement, 17% of private group water schemes were contaminated at least once during 2009.

* Overall compliance with the chemical standards was at 99.2% in 2009. This is a drop from 99.5% in 2008 because of poorer compliance with the new trihalomethanes standard.

* Compliance with some indicator parameters, in particular compliance with aluminium and turbidity parametric values, remains an area for improvement.

Security of Supply

In relation to the security of water supplies (that is, the management of the risks from the source water, through the drinking water treatment plant and supply network to our taps):

* The EPA had identified 339 supplies in need of remedial action in early 2008 and placed them on a Remedial Action List.  Of those, 42 per cent (142) have been removed as the necessary remedial actions have been completed. This includes the public water supplies in Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities which were upgraded in recent years.

* At the end of 2010 there were 264 supplies on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. This includes 67 new supplies added to the list since it was first published in 2008.

* Boil water notices or restrictions of use were put in place on 53 supplies serving approximately 93,000 persons in 2009. Adverse weather conditions in November 2009 alone led to the imposition of boil water notices on 10 public water supplies.

* 44 legally binding directions were issued by the EPA to 16 local authorities in 2008 and 28 legally binding directions to nine local authorities in 2009.

Gerard O’Leary, programme manager, EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, says: “The focused investment in water treatment plants at risk of failing to meet drinking water standards has brought about much needed improvements to our drinking water infrastructure. An additional 500,000 people are now served by supplies that have been removed from our Remedial Action List.”

The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has released a major new report addressing two of the British Government’s toughest energy policy goals – delivering reliable energy to consumers while meeting its legal commitment to reduce C02 emissions by 80% by 2050.

The report concludes that:

* The UK electricity sector must be decarbonised by 2050, by which time oil use will be virtually eliminated;

* Tougher energy efficiency measures could reduce exposure to volatile energy markets, buying time before full decarbonisation of the electricity system takes place;

New and improved low-carbon technologies need a reliable carbon price; a market signal of around £200/tonne C02 by 2050, 15 times the current EU carbon price, is needed to hit the long-term target. This rises to £300-350/tonne C02 if action is delayed or more stringent targets are set.

The report finds that decarbonising the electricity system with nuclear, renewables and coal plant fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) would unlock new potential, allowing electricity to be increasingly used in transport and buildings. A low-carbon energy system could be a high-electricity system.

But it also shows that the more aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency would make the UK system more secure while still leaving it on track to hit the 2050 target. Under this scenario, energy efficiency provides insurance against delays in the development of low carbon technologies, allowing decarbonisation to take place a decade later.

Report findings include:

* Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way of reducing energy demand and carbon emissions, while protecting vulnerable consumers from higher energy prices;

* None of the UKERC scenarios foresee renewable energy going in sufficiently quickly to meet the target in the EU Climate and Energy Package;

* Lifestyle changes could dramatically reduce the cost of meeting CO2 targets. This could involve phasing out petrol/diesel vehicles in town and city centres by 2050, though the use of vans could increase as a result of restrictions on HGVs and an increase in internet shopping. Halving energy use in homes is possible with a combination of major efficiency improvements and modest lifestyle change;

* Reducing CO2 emissions leads, for the most part, to reductions in other environmental emissions; the release of some pollutants, notably sulphur dioxide, will fall substantially. However, pressures on water and land use will need to be managed, as will some atmospheric emissions and radioactive releases;

* Major gas shocks could have cost impacts measured in £billions, mainly through lost supplies to industrial consumers. More investment in gas storage or import facilities could mitigate these impacts;

* Investing in research and technological innovation would significantly reduce the cost of reaching CO2 targets; substantial increases in R&D expenditure appear justified;

* Early action on carbon reduction implies taking a longer-term view of investment in a low-carbon energy system: investing more in infrastructure and solutions such as low carbon buildings, hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicles;

* Microgeneration offers a radically different approach to meeting energy needs, but capital cost and performance are currently barriers for many technologies. However, it could be important in meeting future residential heating needs, and could help catalyse change towards low carbon lifestyles.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Jim Skea, research director at UKERC says: “UK energy policy goals are extraordinarily ambitious. Meeting them will require efforts well beyond the bounds of historical experience. By looking at the energy system in the round, our researchers have shown not only that the goals can be met but that it is possible to reconcile them with wider technological, social and environmental changes.”

Following extensive consultation and consideration, the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government will launch its report on the Management of Severe Weather Conditions, at 2:30 pm today (July 20th) in the AV Room of Leinster House.

The report has examined the causes and subsequent response to the prolonged flooding which afflicted many parts of the country in late 2009 and the heavy snow which caused significant problems for road users earlier this year.

The report finds that some aspects of the emergency response were positive, but it also offers a number of strong criticisms regarding the communications, co-ordination and management reaction to the crises.

The report outlines a number of recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency of response to any futures instances.

During its deliberations, the Committee heard from Met Eireann, ESB, County and City Councils, the Minister for Environment and others. It also undertook a visit to some of the areas worst affected by the floods in Cork.