Renewables alone not the answer and we risk paying a high price for investment failure

A NUMBER of commentators have recently suggested that the answer to current energy prices lies in the more extensive use of renewable energy. There is no doubt renewables have a major role to lay in our energy mix.

However, a simple analysis should not be that renewable energy alone is the solution to Ireland’s current energy problems. Such a view will not help to develop competitive energy prices for the future.

Firstly, it needs to be acknowledged that a failure to invest sufficiently in the network and appropriate generation technology in the 1980s and 1990s has resulted in a substandard electricity system today. The system remains highly congested and it relies on a significant number of ageing and poorly performing generating plants. This is part of the reason for high energy prices in Ireland today.

Secondly, there has been insufficient competition in wholesale and retail markets for gas and electricity. The recently-introduced all-island electricity market was created to address the lack of competition in the Irish market, but there is still significant further work needed here.

Energy markets will always rely on very large investments to provide efficiency, sustainability and security which in turn requires the appropriate stimulus for private sector funding. This is not only the case in renewable technology, it is also the case in providing suitably flexible thermal generation facilities and modern demand management technologies for the times when renewable resources are not available.

In addition, comprehensive public and political support for Eirgrid’s Grid 25 investment programme will be central to delivering an electricity system that is fit for purpose for the 21st century. Making valid comparisons of electricity prices across jurisdictions is also notoriously difficult and can be influenced by many factors.

The main differences between Ireland and our European counterparts result from a legacy of past under-investment and our dependence on imports for almost all of our energy requirements.

The way forward will rely to some extent on renewables but it will also need continuing sizeable investments in modern, efficient technologies — both in conventional generation and grid networks.

Like any other business these costs have to be incurred now to ensure that the next legacy is a much more attractive one for customers and the economy.

Harry McCracken

Group Managing Director

Viridian Power and Energy

Mill House

Ashtowngate

Navan Road

Dublin 15