Bord Gáis Energy’s Dave Kirwan; Driving Ireland’s green energy future through collaboration and investment

In my three decades in Irish energy, I have been privileged to work collaboratively with many people and entities across the sector to achieve positive change and to progress toward a cleaner energy system at the least cost for customers. It is also true to say I have never seen a greater need for this type of collaboration than at this point in our history. With a new Government in situ committed to driving Ireland’s energy transition, and with the EU Energy Efficiency Directive due to be transposed in Irish law in 2025, we will at year end, be better positioned to understand if we are making the progress required to accelerate our path to net zero at the pace required.

Achieving a strong end of 2025 rating will require and depend upon an enhanced mode of operating between all actors, integrating the efforts of many toward coherent and accelerated delivery of infrastructure and frameworks that can support investment and development now, for the medium- and long-term outcomes we seek. Whole system thinking will plot the way forward, however successful execution requires a joined-up mechanism capable of supporting momentum in infrastructure delivery. The discussion around the need for an integrated department that oversees delivery of critical infrastructure arose from a general frustration that, despite the best of intentions of many, we are simply not delivering infrastructure at the pace required, and – viewed from afar – appear to work in silos rather than in concert with each other.

The path to a green energy system is complex and, if we are being honest, not knowable at this point. We need to simplify and not complicate executing the ‘known knowns’. We know that Ireland has a unique opportunity to become a net exporter of offshore wind energy. The decision to move to a plan led development mechanism was the correct one and now, having made it, allows us to focus on delivering supporting infrastructure and mechanisms to move to the next stage of scaled execution. Tackling the barriers we can already see in front of us with ruthless efficiency will provide time to unblock the ones we have yet to comprehend.

Everyone is conscious of the need to consider the cost of the transition, and its implications on Irish households and businesses. Transparency is required for people to trust that the near-term costs are justified, and we must demonstrate we are not wasting scarce capital on the ‘wrong’ infrastructure or indeed deploying capital in a less than efficient manner. Newspaper stories decrying seemingly endless delays to critical infrastructure will erode confidence and support in the industry’s ability to do the right thing, the right way.

Outside of the support we need to gain for this transition, the sustained competitiveness of our economy and its prospects for growth depends on us improving our ability to deliver energy infrastructure, in a way we simply have not had to do in the past.

At Bord Gáis Energy, we are playing our part; by deploying capital in support of our customers and the wider energy ecosystem’s transition and committing to energise a greener, fairer future for our customers, helping them to reach net zero by 2050. We recently launched a One Stop Shop service to facilitate this with home and business retrofits and upgrades that will ultimately save the customer money and reduce carbon emissions.

With the support of our parent company, Centrica, we expect to invest €1 billion in the Irish energy system in the coming five years. Investments in offshore wind, in solar, in battery storage, in repurposing the Whitegate power plant for a future in renewable energy, and in gas peaking plants which will facilitate greater energy efficiency, use of renewables, and security of supply in Ireland. We are doing this at scale and at pace which, as readers of this note will appreciate, comes with some risks. We have also recently committed to becoming a net zero business by 2040, five years earlier than our previous target.

Through enhanced collaboration between government and energy stakeholders and via targeted investment in key areas, we believe Ireland can deliver a green energy future that benefits all, and at Bord Gáis Energy, we are ready to play our part.

Earlier in this foreword, I suggested we do not know the exact roadmap for delivery, but that need not stop us. Uncertainty only exists because we are on the cusp of something that has no precedent. As Lachmann reminds us, “the future is unknowable but not unimaginable”.

Dave Kirwan, Managing Director, Bord Gáis Energy