Second Corrib needed ‘to avoid gas shortage’

IRELAND will need to discover a second Corrib gas field or build a new interconnector to Britain to avoid a possible loss of gas supplies, a report has warned.

The Economic and Social Research Institute warned that such a loss of supplies would have a dramatic effect on the economy and could put lives at risk.

The institute’s review of Ireland’s energy policy voiced concern about the country’s high dependency on gas, which accounts for 57% of all electricity generated in the Republic.

The author of the report, ESRI research professor John FitzGerald, claims any major interruption to the physical supply of gas for any significant period would have a catastrophic effect on the Irish economy.

“It would be worse than a tsunami. It is vital we do something about this,” said Prof FitzGerald.

Prof FitzGerald said any problem with the gas pipeline from Scotland, if it could not be repaired within a few days, would cause serious problems for the Irish economy. The pipeline is vital for supplies to the Irish market.

“We would lose the bulk of our electricity. People will die in hospitals if they don’t have electricity. The traffic lights won’t work and businesses will close,” he said.

While Prof Fitzgerald acknowledged that such an event was highly improbable, it made the Republic’s economy very vulnerable.

He called for the Corrib gas field to be brought into production as soon as possible to ensure security of gas supplies as an alternative to the need for a new and expensive interconnector.

“Obviously the most satisfactory long-term solution would be if a further field was found off the coast which would see Ireland having an independent local source of gas for the foreseeable future.”

Prof Fitzgerald said the key to future energy policy was “getting prices right” so they would continue to attract private investment by energy suppliers and make Ireland’s energy costs relatively competitive.

However, he ruled out nuclear energy as an option as previous research had shown it would “never be economical in Ireland, even if it was politically acceptable”.

The report recommends that expansion of renewable energy supplies should be concentrated on onshore wind generation due to its lower costs.

However, Prof FitzGerald questioned the current level of subsidies to renewable energies like wind and wave power which he claimed may result in “substantial unnecessary costs falling on Irish consumers”.

He said existing state supports for onshore wind projects were “too generous,” while incentives for offshore wind, wave and tidal generation projects should be terminated because of their high costs with no commensurate environmental benefits.

The review also expresses concern about the effect of EU proposals for an integrated EU electricity market on the Irish energy market. “There is a danger that EU rules could see Irish consumers paying for interconnection which might end up raising their price of electricity,” concludes the report.

Prof FitzGerald claimed the use of windfall gains from the Emissions Trading Scheme to provide subsidies to energy users in 2009 was unwise as it sent out the wrong signal.

He insisted the use of a carbon tax remained the best measure to address the issue of reducing carbon emissions. However, Prof Fitzgerald said such a tax needs to be applied on the consumption of all fuels.