Investigating Ireland’s Electricity Emissions

Tackling the climate crisis will require a number of wide-ranging solutions to lower our emissions – the third highest in the EU – in a very short space of time, after all, we only have seven years to act to avert the worst case outcomes.

Today we look at the electricity sector, which is responsible for 17% of Ireland’s total greenhouse gases, and ask how we can get to a carbon neutral grid before it’s too late.

Energy targets

Ireland has committed to ensuring 70% of all electricity generation will come from renewable sources by 2030, with an extended target of having net zero emissions by 2050.

While these are bold targets, they are entirely achievable and necessary to avert worst-case climate change scenarios. Yet, we are currently producing more than three times as much CO2 per day than our target of 100g per kWh by 2030.

So what steps do we need to take to ensure we hit our targets?

“We think it could be possible for Ireland to have a zero-emissions grid by 2040. To do so, we would need to increase our build-out of renewables and start the conversation of what technology will provide the back-up for the days and weeks where we will need it.”

EnergyInIreland believes that the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) – which will support community energy programmes – marks a positive step toward meeting these targets: “The RESS scheme is a good start, and we are going to see the first grid solar projects in Ireland supported over the next year or so, which is vital for summer generation when wind output tends to be lower.”

“This will help reduce the dependency on gas during these times. There are more RESS auctions planned over the coming years for more solar and wind projects, which is great – we need as much of this as we can afford to build. But then our thoughts must turn to storing excess electricity for when it is needed most.”

Storage solutions

While oil and gas power plants allow for more electricity to be produced at peak times by burning more fossil fuels to increase the output, renewable energy fluctuates depending on the world around us as wind and solar radiation levels rise and fall naturally.

As such, while it is entirely possible that Ireland could be powered solely by renewable energy on any given day, it is important that we invest in technologies to help us store power for when we need it most – which is more complex than you may think.

Another solution will be to increase the amount of localised renewable energy produced by homes and businesses through roof-top solar and small-scale wind power generation. This will not only help to meet the demands of our daily routine, but also overcome electricity loss from the source to consumption, making our energy consumption even more efficient.

The growing trend towards vehicle-to-grid systems may also help meet some the demand for energy storage – electric cars are, after all, essentially a big battery on wheels. This approach would allow us to store excess electricity in our cars to draw on later to help with energy-intensive activities at home, such as running a bath – and could then be topped back up when the grid has excess capacity.

And its not just industrial scale developments that are seeing such a significant reduction in cost – the US Energy Information Administration recently reported that the price of solar panels is now twelve times less than it was in 2010, and 459 times less expensive than in 1977.

At this stage it is possible that with an investment of €4,000-€6,000 in a roof-top solar installation in Ireland, could provide savings in excess of €534 in the first year alone (8% of the total spend) and that over 20 years it could return a profit of more than €5,600.

For more information on how you adopt renewable energy, check out How EVs Can Support Energy Independence.