On Monday, October 10th, ESB and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) will co-host an international conference in the Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin, to examine ways to accelerate Ireland’s transition to Net Zero. The full-day conference will bring together a distinguished line-up of policymakers, thought leaders and academics from Ireland and across the world to showcase a vision for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable net zero future.
The conference follows the publication earlier this year of ESB’s Driven to Make a Difference strategy, which set a target for the company to reach net zero by 2040. In effect, this means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible and balancing out the remainder by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere.
In implementing its strategy, ESB is investing more than €1 billion annually in developing and connecting renewable electricity, creating resilient energy infrastructure and developing products and services to empower customers to save money and live more sustainably.
According to ESB chief executive Paddy Hayes, zero carbon electricity has the potential to be one of the primary routes for delivering urgent climate action.
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Electricity can replace oil as the backbone of the energy system and eliminate up to 50 per cent of Ireland’s energy emissions
“By eliminating carbon from electricity and using clean electricity to displace carbon in transport, heat and industry, electricity can replace oil as the backbone of the energy system and eliminate up to 50 per cent of Ireland’s energy emissions. The added benefit will be to wean Ireland off costly and volatile gas imports,” he said.
The Government has set a target that 80 per cent of electricity will come from renewable sources by 2030. To meet the target, ESB says it will be necessary for the energy sector to double the average rate that renewables have been built and connected over the past decade to more than 1GW per year, each year, for the rest of the decade.
ESB is targeting a five-fold increase in renewable generation to reach 5GW this decade. This will be done primarily through investments in offshore wind, onshore wind and solar power. Hydrogen production, storage and dispatchable generation will also play a role in providing reliable, zero-carbon energy when the wind isn’t blowing, or the sun isn’t shining.
So, what progress has been made? ESB recently opened a major battery plant at its Aghada site in Co Cork alongside partners Fluence, and Irish companies Powercomm Group and Kirby Group. This will add 19MW of fast-acting energy storage to help deliver more renewables on Ireland’s electricity system. The projects are ESB’s first in a pipeline to deliver grid-scale battery technology that stores excess renewable energy for discharge when required. ESB’s Aghada site has a longstanding history of innovation and with projects such as this, it will play an important part into the future.
Once complete, Moneypoint Offshore Wind will be capable of powering more than 1.6 million homes in Ireland
Plans are also being progressed for the development of offshore wind projects along the Irish coast. This has included public consultations on projects such as Moneypoint Offshore Wind that, once complete, will be capable of powering more than 1.6 million homes in Ireland. This is part of a multibillion-euro programme to transform the historic Co Clare site to a green energy hub over the next decade.
Other offshore wind projects involving ESB include Celtic Offshore Wind. Phase one will be located offshore to the east of Cork and the south of Waterford. There is also Sea Stacks Offshore Wind, a proposed 800MW fixed-bottom offshore wind farm located off the coast of south Dublin and north Wicklow.
Empowering customers to live more sustainably is a key pillar of ESB’s approach, which is reflected in ongoing investments in Ireland’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In recent years ESB has carried out a significant upgrade programme to expand and enhance the country’s EV charging network with the rollout of multi-charging hubs, high-power chargers and the upgrade of AC chargers nationwide, supported by the Government’s Climate Action Fund.
For businesses, the company has a €75 million smart energy services fund to help large energy users save money and reduce emissions without the requirement for upfront capital costs.
As initiatives to reduce emissions from transport gather pace, ESB recently announced its eBikes pilot rental initiative of 112 bikes across 14 charging stations in parts of the suburbs of Dublin City, supported by mobility solution providers Bleeper and Moby.
The Accelerate: The Transition to a Net Zero Future conference, in partnership with the IIEA, will bring together some of the world’s leading energy experts to share insights and learnings on how Ireland can achieve its net zero targets.
ESB’s partners, the IIEA, noted how the conference is taking place at such an important time for the energy sector.
“We are delighted to be jointly hosting this topical conference with ESB to highlight some of the most pressing issues in climate and energy policy in Ireland,” commented IIEA director-general David O’Sullivan. “We hope that by bringing together leading experts in energy and sustainability policy from across the globe, we can put the energy citizen at the heart of the conversation and emerge with innovative solutions to the issues at hand.”
The conference audience will hear from a range of international and Irish experts, including:
Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks, and Transport, on Irish climate leadership.
Laura Cozzi, chief energy modeller, International Energy Agency, on the Ukrainian crisis and transition to Net Zero.
Dr Varun Sivaram, senior director for clean energy, innovation and competitiveness for John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, on Energising America.
Clare Jackson, chief executive officer, Hydrogen UK, on the UK’s vision for Hydrogen.
Brent Toderian, founder and director of TODERIAN UrbanWORKS, on community empowerment.
For tickets, the full programme and list of speakers, visit: www.esb.ie/accelerate
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