Ireland’s ambitious decarbonisation targets to reduce emissions by 80-95 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050 means that we must make the best and most innovative use of our existing national resources.
In Ervia – the commercial semi-state multi-utility company responsible for the delivery of Ireland’s national gas and water infrastructure and services – we want to ensure that use of renewable gas plays a central role. In fact, we believe that to avoid facing annual EU fines of up to €600 million, Ireland needs to maximise the use of state owned assets in parallel with measures such as renewable energy generation while mitigating against climate change.
Preliminary numbers from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) show that more than 30 per cent of Ireland’s electricity consumption in 2017 came from renewables, which is more than double the figure from 2010. Renewable electricity has a significant role to play in decarbonisation, but it is only part of the story. To decarbonise at-scale, Ireland will have to utilise all resources at its disposal, including its modern gas network to facilitate bioenergy and possibly carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.
In addition to decarbonising our society as it is today, Ireland faces challenges from growth as its population is set to rise by 30 per cent by 2050 which means that up to 500,000 more homes and possibly one million more cars will require powering. Indeed, moving Ireland’s more than two million homes away from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy will be a mammoth task.
If we consider firstly the heating of Ireland’s homes, in all, it accounts for a third of Ireland’s CO2 emissions. A recent study by KPMG, which Ervia commissioned, shows that the use of renewable gas could achieve decarbonisation targets for home heating at a third of the cost of electric heat pumps.
The study costed the decarbonisation of heating for a million urban homes on or near the gas network. Three options were examined: using renewable gas within the existing gas network; deploying low-carbon hydrogen with renewable gas; or installing heat pumps supplied by renewable electricity. KPMG found that the renewable gas option would be a third of the cost of heat pumps.
As well as reducing carbon emissions, it was found that increasing the share of renewable gas would deliver other benefits, such as boosting energy security of supply, facilitating new market opportunities for the farming sector and valuable employment while equally helping to meet the growing requirement for “green gas” from multinationals and indigenous industry.
Renewable gas and Irish transport
Fleet transport is an additional important area that can benefit from using both natural gas and renewable gas. As transport accounts for over one third of all energy used in Ireland, the development of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling network will significantly decarbonise Ireland’s commercial fleet. Developed by GNI, CNG will play a major role in making transport in Ireland cleaner in the first instance, with dramatic CO2 reductions possible through the introduction of renewable gas.
At the same time, Ervia is also exploring other innovative technologies which could significantly improve Ireland’s ability to meet climate action targets. We are currently undertaking a feasibility study on the potential of Carbon Capture and Storage at the depleted gas field in Kinsale, county Cork. This project could reduce the CO2 emissions from electricity generation plants by a minimum of 90 per cent.
Safeguarding our water for our future
As well as having ambitious decarbonisation targets to reduce emissions, I am committed to supporting Irish Water’s ambitious investment strategy to improve the delivery of Ireland’s water and wastewater infrastructure and services.
Over the next fifteen years, we will invest over €13.5 billion in major projects that will ensure a safe and resilient water supply for the people of Ireland, while in parallel rolling out our leakage reduction programme. The business will also upgrade critical wastewater infrastructure to reduce the number of assets currently overloaded and at risk of failure. We need to do all this to ensure that we return treated wastewater safely back into the environment.
Fixing Ireland’s water and wastewater issues will require sustained high levels of investment, together with effective operation and maintenance of our assets. We have a lot to do. Our plans include developing a new water supply source for the Eastern and Midlands region to meet the domestic, commercial and industrial needs of 40 per cent of Ireland’s population in that region. In the country’s capital of Dublin, we are implementing the Greater Dublin drainage project which will provide a new wastewater facility to protect public health and safeguard the environment.
With more than 400 capital projects planned, we are transforming the delivery of water services in Ireland and putting in place a plan that will lay the groundwork for Ireland’s economic growth and social development.