Stepping up for sustainable solutions on energy supply

Nuala Wolfe meets some of the people involved in solving our power needs as Ireland begins to move to a low-carbon economy.

How will my home or business be heated in the future? What kind of car will I be driving when the world runs out of oil? Will I be able to stay living rurally or will I have to move into an urban area? Will there be a ‘clean’ environment to hand over to my children and grandchildren?

These are the dilemmas the average Irish citizen might ponder periodically, but thankfully policy makers, industry and academia are working on these problems right now and ground breaking energy solutions are even up and running in pilot schemes around the country. Problems, solutions and energy innovation will all be on the agenda when the 7th annual International Energy Research Centre Conference, ‘Energy Resilence in a Low Carbon Economy’ meets this March in Cork to investigate how we can all decarbonise Ireland.

“IERC is an industry-led technical centre, funded by Enterprise Ireland and embedded in the Tyndall National Institute at UCC,” explains executive director, Professor Tony Day. “We’re trying to get a strong,

integrated agenda, identifying multiple energy needs, problems and solutions so as well as speakers from Irish companies Electric Ireland, ESB Networks and Gas Networks Ireland, international business leaders and energy innovators will also present at the conference so we exchange ideas and compare how we’re doing against other countries.”

The issues to be considered in decarbonising Ireland are multi- faceted. Energy supply has to be guaranteed for industry, costs need to be reduced for continued competiveness and existing jobs have to be maintained and new ones created, but energy also needs to be cleaner for the sake of the environment, a factor which also impacts positively on people’s health.

“We’re aware of where we need to innovate. Ireland had a 7% growth rate last year we can afford and need to invest in better practices and new technology. Ireland’s lagging behind on heat and transport issues — 30% of our domestic heating fuel is oil which equates to over €1,000 a year spent on fuel but people still don’t insulate their attics.

“Interestingly, it’s often inconvenience rather than cost that puts people off change so industry needs to develop services and materials which cut fuel costs and cause people the least amount of hassle and lost time to install. Hopefully, in the next round of new house builds in Ireland enforcement of building regulations will also improve as this will also benefit the end result for the householder.”

By 2030/35 Ireland will have widespread electric and hydrogen cars and natural gas buses and trucks, most likely powered from bio-methane farm waste.

“In the future people will be able to charge cars from batteries and when their car is not in use the energy can be directed back into the grid. In the UK there’s £20 million worth of research being undertaken now on electric vehicle storage. Charging cars and feeding into the grid will radically reduce people’s fuel costs and also reduce our carbon footprint. International companies like Apple and Microsoft want to be zero carbon globally and if we work towards this we’ll ensure multinationals stay with us, securing jobs but also creating jobs especially in software development, something Ireland is particularly good at,” Professor Day adds.

Cork Company, Solo Energy, is one such Irish SME meeting the software development challenge head on with the launch of their new sustainable energy StoreNet project in Dingle, Co Kerry.

Some 20 homes will shortly have battery storage systems installed in their homes in a collaborative two-year project which includes Electric Ireland and ESB Networks. ‘Smart charging’ of these batteries during off peak times will reduce pressure on the grid and will reduce costs to Dingle householders who’ll be able to harness power from batteries rather than draw from the grid during peak times.

“In Ireland we’re really good at generating power from wind but wind energy can be wasted unless it’s stored; the wind doesn’t always blow or it might blow during a summer night when demand is low, which is a waste unless you can store that power,” explains Solo, COO Killian O’Connor.

The agenda for this years IERC Conference 'Energy Resilience in a Low Carbon Economy' is now online https://t.co/tE5JI8OV3Z #IERC18 pic.twitter.com/YcuekoAm3W

— IERC (@IERC_Info) February 21, 2018

As well as batteries some of the 20 Dingle residents, who’ll be shortly chosen for the pilot project will get solar panels and apps on their phones so they can monitor their energy consumption and see how much money they’re saving. Dingle was chosen as a pilot location because it’s a contained area which often gets bad weather and due to tourism, its electricity needs fluctuate. It’s also in a location where the ESB are looking at ways to strengthen the existing network.

Tickets for the March 14 IERC conference at Fota Island Hotel cost €135 and the conference is open to the public as well as academics, industry and policy makers