Energy and Climate Change

17 Oct Policy Advisory: Energy Policy and Economic Opportunity – The Potential of Large Scale Electricity Exports

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2012

The opportunity to export electricity has arisen because of the difficulty the UK has in meeting its EU renewable energy targets; the commissioning of the East-West Interconnector in 2012 between Ireland and Great Britain; the opportunity to offload onshore wind in the Irish system which would otherwise have been curtailed off; and a surplus of conventional generation in Ireland. This report is the first in a new series of reports on Energy Policy and Economic Opportunity which will be produced by the Academy this year.  This series of reports will also address the role of Oil and Gas, Emerging Transport Technology and Conservation and Energy Efficiency.

17 Oct Policy Advisory: The Future of Oil and Gas in Ireland

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2013

Ireland’s renewable energy supply has grown steadily in recent years but oil and gas continue to provide over 80% of Ireland’s energy supply.  The country’s dependence on these fossil fuels will continue for several decades to come and policy decisions which are taken now will impact significantly on Ireland’s future economic competitiveness. Government policies should promote further development of the natural gas market in Ireland as well as investment in strategic gas infrastructure.  Ireland’s energy import costs can potentially be reduced by over €300 million each year by switching from oil to natural gas in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. More needs to be done by Government also to attract oil companies with the technical and financial capacity to explore and develop Ireland’s offshore hydrocarbon resources.

17 Oct Policy Advisory: Achieving Ireland’s Energy and CO2 Reduction Targets – An Alternative Approach

Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE)
2013

This policy advisory calls for a strategic rebalancing of Government energy policy between now and 2020 and focuses on the Residential, Commercial, Non-ETS Industrial and Public Service Sectors. Through innovative analysis, it proposes several pragmatic measures which have good payback, make national economic sense with associated opportunities for private enterprise, which will stimulate much-needed national economic growth and construction-related employment.