Ireland will be an energy exporter by the end of the decade, said Environment Minister Eamon Ryan.
In what would be a sea change for a country that has long relied on imported fuels to generate electricity, Mr Ryan said a surplus of power would be generated here in just seven years.
“It’s going to happen, it’s a real certainty now,” he said. “The industry is gearing up and the State is going to make it work,” reports Independent.
He said that with all the renewable electricity projects under development, 55 terawatts of energy will be generated in Ireland by 2030, while the country’s peak demand requirement will be 50 terawatts.
With work underway on two electricity interconnectors linking Ireland with Wales and France, the surplus could be sold overseas.
“By the end of this decade, we’re going to be an energy exporter with a view to becoming a much larger exporter in the next decade,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Ryan shared his optimistic view at the industry body Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) annual conference.
Concerns were repeatedly raised during the two-day meeting that national planning and regulatory systems and infrastructure are neither prepared nor adequately resourced to cope with the rapid expansion of renewable electricity.
Alejandro de Hoz of the international energy company Corio, which is developing what would be Ireland’s first Atlantic-based offshore wind farm off the coast of Galway, said slow permits and grid connection were worrying.
Mr Ryan agreed that the planning system for onshore and offshore development needed better resources and said it was a priority for the government.
However, he said he believes Ireland can achieve its renewable energy targets and that the public wants to achieve it.
“They just want to know what’s the practical way of doing it and is it real, is it tangible, is it deliverable? I’m absolutely convinced it is. It’s different to fossil and nuclear which is hierarchical, which you can hold people to ransom over, which is used as a threat in war,” reports Independent.
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