A chara, – The most uncomfortable truth in the Government’s recently published National Hydrogen Strategy is its lack of uncomfortable truths (“State plans to export renewable electricity as interconnector expansion to Europe and UK agreed”, News, July 26th). There is nothing wrong with being optimistic about hydrogen. The possibility of green hydrogen being produced in Ireland from surplus offshore wind is exciting, but there is a fine line between optimism and delusion.
The uncomfortable truths lacking in the hydrogen strategy are essentially contradictions glossed over with very little understanding of the political economy of hydrogen. That the fossil fuel industry is currently trying to lock itself into the energy transition via hydrogen seems lost on Government hydrogen strategists.
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan states that hydrogen should not be used where direct electrification is more efficient. The strategy then goes on to foresee hydrogen being produced from national grid electricity up until 2030, despite the fact there is currently no demand for hydrogen in Ireland, albeit the ongoing incursion of data centres means we are a long way from having a surplus of any kind of electricity.
The recently adopted EU delegated act on hydrogen, which deals with when hydrogen can be defined as green, actually permits the use of pre-2028 installed electrolysers to carry on using national grid electricity up until 2038 to produce what would be legally defined as green hydrogen.
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In May, a number of energy companies took part in an auction for Ireland’s offshore wind. The German company RWE, which owns and operates a monstrosity of coal mines and gas plants was one of the successful bidders.
Another is France-based EDF whose primary output is electricity produced from nuclear power, but also has a stake in renewables and gas.
Getting to a situation of having surplus electricity to produce hydrogen would be made far more difficult if electrolysers are being installed liberally and without due diligence. Our national grid has already been badly sapped by the data industry.
Of course keeping electricity scarce and expensive suits energy companies.
It is repeated several times throughout the hydrogen strategy that Ireland has one of the best offshore wind resources in the world. This is great but shouldn’t we be getting on with building offshore wind infrastructure, and maybe start talking about what to do with a surplus of electricity closer to when it actually exists? – Is mise,
CONOR DOWD,
Galway.