Letters

Responding to the energy crisis

Reducing waste

Thu Sept 01 2022 - 00:14

A chara, – China is rationing electricity in order to create extra capacity in order to cope with the surge in demand. This has resulted in all unnecessary lighting in Shanghai being switched off. Ireland should implement similar measures to get us through next winter. This is a wise policy under any circumstances as it reduces unnecessary waste, to which many of us have become oblivious, such as lights being left on throughout the night in empty office buildings.

Irish school principals are currently stressed from dealing with extraordinarily high energy bills.

The Department of Education should initiate a plan of action to make use of this crisis to insulate all primary and secondary schools to passive building standards. This would eliminate the dreaded expense of future energy bills. It is also a timely opportunity to minimise the environmental impact of heating these buildings. By insulating schools to a very high standard, the next generation of Irish citizens will see that energy efficiency in all parts of life is an important part of the solution to the global energy crisis, to climate change, and to the vital transition away from fossil fuels. – Is mise,

MAIRTIN

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O’FALLAMHAIN,

Letterkenny,

Co Donegal.

Sir, – Graeme Fryer (Letters, August 31st) seems to take issue with the fact that his solar feed in tariff is below the rate charged for grid electricity. What he perhaps fails to note is that the grid price also needs to incorporate the cost of grid maintenance, grid energy storage, and ramping up or down the gas peaker plants, in order to, among other things, accommodate sporadic input of renewables. Now, if Mr Fryer had his own substantial domestic energy storage capacity, and actually fed the electricity into the grid in accordance with peak demand, then he might have a case for commanding a higher price. – Yours, etc,

WILL BREEN,

Cork.