Ireland in top five of EU on wind-generated electricity

THE REPUBLIC is now in the top five EU countries for consumption of wind-generated electricity, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland said yesterday.

Launching a report, Energy in Ireland 1990-2009, the authority said wind-generated electricity had increased in the Republic by 28 per cent on average each year between 2005 and 2009.

Overall consumption of renewable energy – which includes biomass such as wood-chip boilers and biofuels for transport – grew by 15 per cent each year during the period.

The increase in renewables coupled with the economic downturn meant there was a corresponding drop in energy related CO2 emissions of 11 per cent in 2009.

The report noted the combination of reduced demand for energy from industry – it fell by 13 per cent in 2009 – and a greater proportion of “green” energy. It said this would make European Union targets for sustainable energy easier to achieve.

The report also found the new vehicle registration and road tax systems had resulted in a dramatic increase in consumers choosing more fuel-efficient vehicles in the A and B label bands.

The report found that 80 per cent of new cars bought in the first 11 months of 2010 belonged in these bands. This was up from 25 per cent prior to the new tax band introduction.

However, the report warned there should be no let up in the “vigour” with which Irish renewable energy targets are pursued.

These targets include sourcing 40 per cent of the State’s electricity, 12 per cent of heating energy and 10 per cent of vehicle fuel from renewables by 2020.

The report follows the publication of the European Environment Agency's report State and Outlook 2010which found Ireland was among the lowest users of renewable energy among the current 27 EU members, and below the EU average in 2004.

This report, published at the end of November, also found little difference between the household energy consumption in Ireland, per person, between the years 1990 and 2007.

However, Brian Motherway of the authority said the EU findings in relation to 2004 showed how much had been achieved in Ireland in very recent years.

In relation to the housing issues, Mr Motherway said the last few years showed a vast improvement in energy consumption as newer homes were built with more insulation, more use of renewable energies and more efficient boilers.

Commenting on the incentives provided to home owners to make their properties more energy-efficient, Mr Motherway said some 65,000 homes will have been given improvement grants this year.

He said a typical grant from the authority for insulation would be €1,000, to which the homeowner would add another €2,000, which would have a dramatic impact on fuel bills.

The Energy Ireland 1990-2009report also noted energy prices in Ireland fell in 2009, a factor which was highlighted by Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan.

Launching the report, the Minister said he was “encouraged” to see that “contrary to some perceptions, Ireland’s position in terms of energy prices relative to the rest of Europe continues to improve, with prices for many consumers now below the EU average”.

* The report can be accessed on www.seai.ie/statistics