They say getting to 70pc renewable electricity by 2030, as currently planned, will need multiple battery-storage installations, the completion of three planned transboundary interconnectors and a strengthened transmission grid. Even with all these components in place, natural gas will remain essential to power supply in 2030 and beyond, albeit on a reduced scale.
They also warn that time is running out to put all these energy safeguards in place.
“With one year gone and nine to go to 2030, it is imperative that the Dáil turns its attention to ensuring that the correct policy signals stimulate appropriate market incentives and the right investments,” said Dara Lynott, chief executive of the Electricity Association of Ireland (EAI).
EAI members are responsible for more than 90pc of the electricity generation and supply across the entire island.
Mr Lynott told the Oireachtas Climate Action Committee that the sector’s ambition was for a fossil-free future powered by electricity and it fully supported the Government’s ambitions in this regard.
But he said research carried out for the association by the MaREI Centre at University College Cork showed this ambition was dependent on significant infrastructural investment.
MaREI reviewed 250,000 hours of historical weather data to determine the extremes to which an electricity generation system dependent on wind and solar would need to adapt.
Its researchers found that with all the new renewable energy projects planned, there will be capacity to produce 40pc more electricity but with overall emissions halved.
original article: https://www.independent.ie/news/environment/power-firms-warn-time-is-short-for-green-energyplan-40469910.html
