Heating up the energy debate

From fossil fuels to decarbonisation via sustainability, the conversation around our energy needs has already changed dramatically in recent years. The energy landscape is sure to look markedly different in the future, particularly as providers aim to fulfil the EU objective of having net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Energy providers may say their output is greener than ever, but how will this change in the face of consumer demands and international pressure to reduce carbon emissions?

Klair Neenan, managing director at SSE Airtricity, views it as an "exciting" time in the energy sector, as it undergoes a significant shift in the way energy is produced.

“We are leading the way in terms of Ireland’s decarbonisation agenda,” says Neenan.

“The increased focus on climate change and drive towards net zero carbon will have huge implications for the energy landscape in Ireland. We are already seeing a greater shift towards sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar power,” she says. Neenan warns that more is needed from a national policy perspective to support greater investment and encourage greater consumer uptake of sustainable energy sources.

In the short to medium term, heat and transport are two areas Neenan sees undergoing significant changes.

“The electrification of heating has real potential to help decarbonise the built environment. Similarly, the electrification of transport will vastly improve local air quality, reduce carbon emissions and help integrate renewables into the electricity system,” she explains.

For example, the Government’s Climate Action Plan foresees an additional one million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2030; this is “an ambitious target”, Neenan says.

“Reaching this target will be contingent on the extensive roll-out of charging infrastructure to stimulate demand and support usage. Local authorities, transport authorities and electricity companies are best-placed to lead the competitive delivery of EV charging via a new partnership model.”

Garrett Donnellan, head of strategy and corporate development at Energia, agrees that electricity will become the energy source of choice for transport and heat, which combined with energy efficiency actions will reduce the consumer's carbon footprint considerably. However, he cautions that centralised low-carbon gas generation power stations will still be required to power industry and provide support to the wider electricity system.

Scaled up

Longer-term, the next 30 years will see renewable energy scaled up to unprecedented levels, says Neenan. Ireland has a number of geographical characteristics that make it well-placed to accommodate this shift, she adds.

“In all net zero 2050 scenarios, a rapid and vast increase in renewable energy will be needed. The scale of renewable deployment needed makes offshore wind critical to Ireland meeting its targets. Naturally, given our geographic profile, Ireland’s potential for offshore wind is enormous. Our seabed territory is one of the largest in Europe, more than 10 times the size of our land mass. And we have an incredible wind resource off our entire coastline.”

“In the future, renewable energy will be the most prolific source of energy on the island, dominated by on-shore wind but joined by large-scale solar photovoltaic installations, off-shore wind and bioenergy production, all supported by large-scale battery installations,” Donnellan says.

Unsurprisingly, the energy industry is currently poised to invest billions of euro to develop Ireland’s offshore wind energy assets to their full potential.

Neenan explains that Airtricity sister company SSE Renewables is actively developing its plans for the 520MW Arklow Bank Wind Park, which would able to reach operation by 2025, helping to meet the Irish Government’s near-term offshore wind target of 1.5GW of offshore wind by the mid-2020s. This would also contribute significantly to meeting Ireland’s legally binding climate change targets, she adds.

“By working with industry, we can make Ireland a world leader in offshore wind, bringing investment confidence to the supply chain both locally and globally. If policymakers set a higher 2030 target for offshore wind over the coming years, this will be a step forward in recognising the importance of supporting renewable energy and of the sector in facilitating delivery on climate action,” she says.

Energy efficiency and retrofitting of homes and businesses will be a growing feature of Ireland’s decarbonisation programme, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan. Neenan says SSE Airtricity Energy Services has been preparing for this by working to adopt a partnership approach between bodies such as the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and local authorities. “Building on this method will be vital to the development of Ireland’s ‘one-stop-shop’, given the scale of energy savings required – and utilities like SSE Airtricity can play an important role in achieving these targets.”

Indeed, the responsibility will increasingly fall on individuals as well as energy providers. Neenan says enabling microgeneration is an important part of ensuring citizens can actively participate in Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

"This is a way of facilitating greater renewables generation at local level. Innovative products, such as Airtricity's solar energy solution Farmgen offering for Glanbia farmers, are leading the way in microgen supports for sectors that are willing to embrace sustainable energy options," she says.

Energy independence

Donnellan agrees that consumers will begin to take on a much more central role in the energy landscape, and he suggests this could see many people become close to energy independence.

“Distributed micro generation in the form of solar panels and micro wind turbines will increase in prevalence and communities will pool each other’s generation to match their demand facilitated by sophisticated software systems delivering blockchain functionality,” Donnellan says.

“In order to achieve our 2030 Climate Action Plan targets, we ultimately will need to deliver on the large-scale off-shore wind development pipeline in our territorial waters but in the interim we must continue to focus on the continued development of on-shore wind and large-scale solar PV projects,” he adds.

Donnellan is confident the groundwork is already being done when it comes to transforming Ireland’s energy landscape.

“The global energy industry is on the cusp of a fundamental shift with the energy transition away from fossil-based energy sources to a low-carbon system now a reality. The changes will not be obvious overnight, but certainly by the end of the current decade big strides will have been made towards the goal of net-zero carbon by 2050,” he says.