MINISTER FOR Energy Eamon Ryan has told the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that more than 800,000 homes here are being powered by a record 1,250 megawatts of electricity from wind turbines.
Five years ago, he said, Eirgrid “would have said we could not technically reach 35 per cent penetration [for renewables]” on the national grid. “When you get to a really high level of renewable penetration it can be technically challenging but manageable.
“In just over three years we have doubled the amount of renewable energy in Ireland, while at the same time reducing electricity prices. We have insulated over 110,000 homes and will soon be launching a plan to reach one million Irish homes over the next decade.”
Speaking on “the principal energy challenges facing national governments”, Mr Ryan said five international companies had signed agreements with the Government to provide electric vehicles in Ireland, with the ESB building the charging infrastructure.
“Irish companies are developing real expertise in the green technology area and the rest of the world wants to hear our story,” he told participants in the annual summit.
“We are changing the energy landscape in Ireland, and people are beginning to respond. It cannot be a moral choice every day. Doing the right thing has to be something easy and automatic, so it doesn’t even register.”
He said in Ireland the measures that worked best were taxation, where car tax was linked to emissions levels as well as building energy regulations and new technology such as smart meters.
Mr Ryan said the EU “now understands our energy interdependence” and the need for an integrated electricity market.
“I would say that in the last three years the Council of Ministers in the EU has undergone a change of thinking. Given that it was initially founded with a coal and steel-sharing pact, it’s ironic that it has taking until now for the EU to understand that.
“We have begun the planning for grid connections between countries which will help our transmission operator when we go over 50 per cent renewables.”
