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Ireland and Northern Ireland

Ireland and Northern Ireland

 

The 2005 All-Island Energy Market-Renewable Electricity A 2020 Vision  document commits Ireland and Northern Ireland to developing a harmonised approach to renewable energy that supports energy sustainability and economic competitiveness north and south of the island.

All-Island energy policy coordination is being shaped and driven by on-going work between the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in the south and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in the north. In addition, the Commission for Energy Regulation and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation are involved in a joint initiative called the All-Island Project which is designed to help build closer harmonisation in the energy sector. EirGrid’s 2009 acquisition of the System Operator of Northern Ireland (SONI) has further enhanced energy policy coordination on an All-Island basis.

 

Ireland

Through a range of mutually reinforcing policy measures Ireland is beginning to seriously access and harness renewable energy sources for the benefit of the country. The government is now firmly committed to exploiting the potential of renewable energy resources on the island and has developed a flexible policy framework to support this aim.

Ireland’s renewable energy commitments and targets are outline in several related national strategic policy documents including, the action-based energy policy White Paper on Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland (2007); the National Climate Change Strategy  (2007); the Carbon Budget  (2008), Smarter Travel-A Sustainable Transport Future  (2009) the Programme for Government (2011) and the 2010 National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). Together these documents chart a course for Ireland’s renewable energy sector for the next decade.

Government policy on renewable energy involves the implementation of several political, economic and operational support mechanisms to ensure the country can effectively tap our renewable energy potential and is driven by ambitious overarching national targets divided across three energy sectors, including: renewable electricity generation (RES-E); renewable heating (RES-H) and renewable transport (RES-T). Of course, in setting these renewable targets, the government has taken account of broader EU and global policy developments in the renewable energy sector.

RES-E: The government recognises that electricity generation from renewable sources offers one of the most effective ways to reduce the contribution of power generation to Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and thus has set ambitious national targets for the contribution of renewables for power generation; 15% of electricity energy generation will be from renewable sources by 2010 and 40% by 2020.

RES-H: The government has set a target of 12% renewable heat market penetration by 2020, with an interim target of 5% by 2010. These targets will be facilitated mainly through the Greener Homes and Renewable Heat Deployment grants programmes, but will be supported by future initiatives designed to encourage the use of renewable energy in the domestic, commercial and industrial arenas.

RES-T: The government’s renewable targets in the transport sector will account for 10% of petrol and diesel by 2020. This includes an interim target of 3% by 2010. This target is a necessary step to reduce an over-reliance on oil. At present, the transport sector is almost 99% dependent on oil. In addition, the transport sector accounts for around 33% of total Irish energy consumption and thus the integration of renewables into this sector could potentially contribute to a significant reduction in the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Northern Ireland  

The publication of the Northern Ireland Strategic Energy Framework last year set a 40% renewable electricity target to be reached by 2020. This target is consistent with the 40% renewable electricity target in Ireland and in the context of the all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM) is likely to help minimise the potential for market distortions between the two jurisdictions.

To meet the 2020 renewable electricity target, Northern Ireland will need to increase the installed level of wind generation on the power system to near 1,500 MW. This development will pose significant infrastructural and operational challenges that EirGrid is working together to overcome. It is estimated that to facilitate this renewable target approximately £1 billion pounds will need to be invested in the electricity network across Northern Ireland. This investment will involve expanding and upgrading the existing grid – a network that is understood to be nearing its operational limit as regards to the capacity of renewable generation that can be connected. 

In Northern Ireland, the Strategic Energy Framework is expected to be supplemented over the coming year with a number of more specific action plans including:

  • the cross departmental Bioenergy Action Plan;
  • a Renewable Heat Route Map;
  • the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategic Action Plan;
  • an onshore Grid Strategic Environmental Assessment and associated Strategic Action Plan; and
  • development of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan.