The Present
We answer the key questions on energy cost, supply and infrastructure in Ireland today.
Climate impact
Is Ireland’s electricity system environmentally friendly? Is our electricity system helping fight climate change?
Yes, our electricity system is, in comparison with some others like Germany, Spain and the UK environmentally friendly; but we will need to do a lot more if we are to continue to play our part in fighting the threat of climate change.
CO2 emissions from power generation in Ireland have fallen by 50% since 1990; we now get 46% more power from the same amount of fuel and 22% of our electricity comes from low carbon and renewable sources of energy.
We will continue to improve on these measures as our electricity system becomes increasingly effective at fighting climate change, thanks to new technology, greater recourse to renewable energy, better access to affordable natural gas, and reduced emissions from coal and gas.
Government and EU action will play a key role in this, particularly through a reformed EU Emissions Trading System, which promotes the use of renewables and will penalise fuels that emit high levels of greenhouse gases in the power generation and industry sectors.
How do our greenhouse gas emissions compare with other countries? How do our emissions from energy compare to other countries?
Ireland’s overall greenhouse gas emissions are the third highest in the European Union, exceeded only by Malta and Cyprus, owing to the size and nature of our agricultural industry.
Our agricultural output per head of population is much higher than that of Britain, Germany or the Netherlands. Energy industry-related emissions made up 20% of our greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, compared with an EU average of 29%. A recent review by the European Environmental Agency stated that further investment in structural and behavioural changes is needed to meet our EU greenhouse gas emissions reductions target.
When it comes to power generation, we emit less greenhouse gases per kWh than many other countries. However, our per capita emissions in transport and space heating are out of line with other European countries.
Figure 34. Emissions Intensity in the Power Sector, EU 15 Countries Compared, 2013
- g CO2/kWh 2013
What climate impacts will we experience if we don’t embrace renewables and other technologies to reduce our emissions and just leave things the way they are?
Climate change, if unchecked, will certainly lead to greater incidences of flooding in Ireland due to more intense and frequent storms, a decline in water quality and conversely water shortages in summer. There will not only be a human cost to these events (the loss of homes and belongings, along with increased insurance costs), but an economic one too as our natural resources, agricultural practices and tourist industry are affected. The wider issue of geopolitical instability in other regions and its impact on Ireland should not be underestimated.
Ireland is not too small to make a difference. As a global problem we can all play our part in tackling it.
Figure 35. Seasonal change (%) in the frequency of very wet days for wind for medium low emissions (a) and high emissions (b) scenarios. Changes projected in 2041-2060 relative to 1981-2000
Why do we burn coal at Moneypoint?
Moneypoint is Ireland’s largest power station providing a stable supply of electricity to meet baseload requirements.
Coal is currently a low cost fuel and is a very competitive fuel for power generation but it has much higher emissions than gas for example. While putting a price on emissions through the EU ETS was meant to dis-incentivise high emission fuels, the current low cost of EU emission permits is not enough to discourage its use. For the time being, and despite their high emissions, coal-fired plants remain profitable across Europe and in Ireland.
The ESB, as owners of Moneypoint, have said that the future of power generation at the station will need to change, although it said this will not happen in the short to medium term. Coal is likely to remain a key element of the country’s power generation mix for the next decade.
Figure 36. Coal Requirement, Moneypoint, and Coal Prices in Europe, 1998-2014
- Coal Input Moneypoint
- Price
Why do we need to reduce our carbon emissions by 80%?
To prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change, it is essential that any increase in global temperature stays below 2⁰C. For this to happen, Europe believes it should reduce its energy-related emissions of greenhouse gases by 80% compared to 1990 levels.
This is a huge challenge affecting how we heat and light our homes and offices, power our industries, fuel our cars. Without major changes, global temperatures could increase by as much as 6⁰C by the end of this century. At the 2015 climate summit in Paris, governments committed to limit the increase in world temperature and recognised the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible. But greater and sustained efforts will be needed to tackle the threat.
Ireland has agreed to cut our emissions from electricity generation, buildings and transport by at least 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.
Core Components of the 2015 Paris Agreement: Driving Continuous Improvement Toward Long-Term Goals
Where does our coal come from?
We used 1.3 million tonnes of coal in 2014, with 78% of this coming from Colombia.
Approximately 74% of this was used for power plant generation in Moneypoint, and the rest was used in residential heating, industry, the services sector and for combined heat and power units in industry. Coal for home heating is largely imported from Poland. In 2014, this amounted to 104,000 tonnes. We also imported 39,000 tonnes of mainly smokeless coal from the UK.
Do we need peat generation?
If we accept local economic and supply reasons, yes – it creates jobs and investment in the Midlands and provides a guaranteed indigenous source of power. However, environmentalists have called for the phasing out of subsidies for peat arguing that energy policy should not be about job creation.
Bord na Mona has said it will stop extracting peat from existing bogs by 2030 and has said it won’t open any new bogs. It is rolling out a programme to combine the burning of biomass waste with peat and replacing peat with local, regionally sourced and imported biomass.
The three peat-fired stations in Ireland met 8.8% of our electricity needs in 2014. However, peat generates high greenhouse emissions and other pollutants. A draft National Peatlands strategy has been developed to address the future for peatland use and extraction.
Are we on track to meet our EU emission reduction targets for 2020?
Current estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency suggest that we will not meet our EU emission reduction target for 2020.
The EU target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, compared to 2005 levels. To meet this overarching commitment, Ireland has set targets to increase renewables in the electricity, heat and transport sectors (16% of final energy consumption) and improve energy efficiency (20% savings). At present, we are projected to miss these targets – with emissions projected to be 9% – 14% below 2005 levels by 2020.
Areas of the economy that are covered by the EU’s emissions trading scheme (such as electricity generation and energy-intensive industries) are likely to achieve and exceed the 20% target by 2020, but sectors such as agriculture and transport that are not covered by the ETS scheme are projected to fall short.
Figure 39. EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projection for Ireland under ‘with measures’ scenario, 1990-2020
- Energy
- Residential
- Industry/ Commerical
- Agriculture
- Transport
- Waste