Ireland will play a major role in developing a European “super grid” for green energy over the coming years.
The Minister for the Environment, Climate & Communications has said the development of a Europe-wide grid for the distribution of different forms of renewable energy will be the “most critical peace project of our time.”
Speaking at the final REthink Energy lecture from the ESB and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), Minister Eamon Ryan said that, as “one of the windiest places on the planet,” Ireland will be capable of generating huge amounts of wind energy and shipping it to other parts of the world.
He said new offshore wind developments in the Irish Sea could support the generation of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of power generation in the Irish Sea by the end of next year – with plans for further wind farm development in the Celtic Sea in the coming years.
Artist’s impression of the proposed Dublin Array windfarm. Image: Dublin ArrayThat will be followed by floating offshore wind farms off the west coast by the end of the decade, taking the country’s capacity to around 35GW.
“If we were able to deliver 35GW, given that our sea area is ten times our land area, why would we stop there?” he said. “We have the prospect of building even further but to do that we will have to be able to ship it out to other countries.”
Delighted to hear from @EamonRyan at @iiea on the EU Green Deal and importance of collaboration to achieve our #NetZero ambitions through R&D in renewable energy and interconnector projects #Greenlink #WalesandIreland #Buildbettertomorrrows https://t.co/AUZqhe7Zcj
— Wales in Ireland (@WalesinIreland) December 11, 2020
He said Ireland will need to be part of an interconnected network, noting that plans for new interconnectors with France and Wales are already in the works.
“I see that as only the start of something that is going to be really big which is this super grid that ships solar power from the south, Scandinavian and Alpine hydro and wind from the north west of Europe and other power supply sources into a balancing system of variable power and variable demand across this wider area,” he said.
“It is the most critical peace project of our time. It allows us the prospect of sharing energy in a different way. Of distributing energy ownership and energy power across an area so the resource wars and challenges we have seen in the outgoing century are not repeated in this 21st Century and at the same time we meet the climate challenge of our day.
“That sounds big but that is where we are going and the way we need to think.”
Delighted to hear from @EamonRyan speaking to the @iiea on the European Green Deal. Series of events attended by the office this week highlights how vital our work to tackle climate change is. Lots of work and collaboration possible in this area. pic.twitter.com/FHw4sw1luJ
— Scot Gov Ireland (@scotgovireland) December 11, 2020
Minister Ryan said the global green energy revolution will take several decades to complete and said people from all walks of life will need “the patience of those who built the cathedrals of Europe” to see it through.
The REthink Energy lecture series recognises that carbon neutrality can only be achieved through a fundamental transformation of Europe’s energy systems and features some of the world’s leading minds in politics, industry and academia to examine how this can be achieved.
The series began in July with an excellent talk by Christian Buchel, Chair of the E.DSO for Smart Grids, who spoke about the ‘smart grid revolution’ in Europe which will enable the digitalisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation of the electricity grid
It continued in September with a fascinating address from Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and key contributor to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Meanwhile, in October, we heard from Dr Christina Demski Deputy Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) and Niamh Boyle founder and Managing Director of the Reputations Agency in Dublin on building popular support for the transition to green energy.
The fourth lecture in the series heard from former European Commission Director General for Energy, Sir Philip Lowe, who warned that, with Brexit on the horizon, the security of Ireland’s energy supply has never been more important.
The fifth lecture saw Trident Winds founder Alla Weinstein calling on Ireland to invest in large-scale floating wind farms to harness the tremendous power of its offshore wind.
You can learn more about the series and watch all of the lectures here.
