Renewable energy magazine 2020
This issue of the Energy Ireland Renewable Energy magazine comes at a pivotal time of developments in renewable energy, north and south.
2020 has been a remarkable year for the renewables sector. The new Programme for Government has delivered the opportunity for a significant step change in the development of renewables at a time when Ireland faces the stark challenge of delivering levels of decarbonisation over the next 10 years equal to what it has achieved in the last 30.
The Programme for Government, followed swiftly by the first RESS-1 auction, which heralded fresh opportunity in onshore wind and the maturing of the solar PV sector, presents opportunity. Simultaneously, the evolution of offshore wind potential and the ambitious target of 5GW by 2030 will provide the much sought-after confidence to generators and investors.
Ireland has an opportunity to be a global leader in the decarbonisation of its power system, benefitting from the export of excess generation and expertise, while also harvesting the social and health benefits of a greener climate. The Government’s ambitions indicate that it is ready to play its role in enabling this opportunity as it looks towards a green recovery.
8th December 2020
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, outlines progress on the Government’s plans to double its carbon emission reduction targets to 7 per […]
8th December 2020
Director of Capital Projects at SSE Renewables Paul Cooley discusses the opportunity presented for Ireland to build a green recovery through the renewable energy transition. Welcoming […]
8th December 2020
GE’s Grid Solutions is at the forefront of offshore grid technology, helping to harness the power of offshore wind. Renewable technologies are enabling the transition to […]
8th December 2020
The Programme for Government signalled a move away from ambition to action as Ireland seeks to move from laggard to leader in the renewable transition, writes […]
8th December 2020
Innovation will be central to ambitions to decarbonise the economy states Sam McCloskey, Director, Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE). There is no doubt that the […]
8th December 2020
Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy outlines the role of member states and the energy system in achieving the EU’s raised ambitions on tackling climate change. […]
8th December 2020
Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) Commissioner Jim Gannon discusses the regulatory outlook for the renewable transition. Having joined the Commission in October 2019, Gannon describes […]
8th December 2020
Fully engaging citizens while also seeking to rapidly increase the levels of renewable electricity generation out to 2030 presents the greatest challenge to ambitions, believes Director […]
8th December 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a disruptive impact on virtually every sector and business during 2020, and this certainly extended to the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) […]
8th December 2020
Economy Minister for Northern Ireland Diane Dodds MLA sets out her ambitions for renewable energy ahead of the delivery of a new Energy Strategy. In June […]
8th December 2020
If Ireland can step up when we are called upon to do so to deal with a dangerous pandemic, can we not find a way to […]
8th December 2020
Principal Officer in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Conor McCabe, outlines the delivery of a National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) in the context […]
8th December 2020
Thomas Byrne, Director of Energy Strategy in the Department for the Economy (DfE) talks to David Whelan about the progress on delivering a long-term Energy Strategy […]
8th December 2020
Neasa Quigley, Senior Partner, Carson McDowell, looks ahead to the future of renewable energy in Northern Ireland. In the last month, the role of renewable energy […]
8th December 2020
Incentivising the microgeneration of energy through solar PV could be the key to diversifying Ireland’s energy mix. The potential future role of solar energy in Ireland’s […]
8th December 2020
The Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA) aims to build on a successful year for the Irish solar industry and maximise its contribution to a clean and […]
8th December 2020
The pre-legislative scrutiny process for the proposed Marine Planning and Development Management Bill commenced at the end of November 2020, at the same time that a […]
8th December 2020
Offshore wind will play a crucial role in Ireland meeting its climate targets and reaching 70 per cent renewable electricity by 2030. There are currently several […]
8th December 2020
The MaREI Centre’s Fiona Devoy McAuliffe outlines the findings of an industry-led analysis of offshore wind development in the context of the Government commitment to 5GW […]
8th December 2020
Lisa Ryan and Sarah La Monaca of the UCD Energy Institute discuss whether Ireland has enough EV chargering infrastructure to address ‘range anxiety’, a recognised barrier […]
8th December 2020
Energy Ireland brought together Dr Paul Deane and Laura Mehigan from MaREI and Dara Lynott CEO of the Electricity Association of Ireland (EAI) to discuss the […]
8th December 2020
With the production of a new Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland underway, the region must be enabled for a new wave of renewables, says RenewableNI Head […]
8th December 2020
Janette Webb, Co-Director of UK Energy Research Centre and Professor of Sociology of Organisations, Edinburgh University discusses the lack of progress on the decarbonisation of heat […]
8th December 2020
John Reilly, Head of Powergen Development at Bord na Móna, outlines the company’s transition under its strategy of ‘Brown to Green’. The implementation of the strategy […]
8th December 2020
NUI Galway’s Rory Monaghan outlines some of the potential roles for renewable hydrogen in Ireland’s efforts to decarbonise the energy sector. Interest in hydrogen has historically […]
8th December 2020
The city of Copenhagen has set an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2025. Executive Director of Denmark’s State of Green, Finn Mortensen, outlines the […]
8th December 2020
2021 is a defining year for climate action on the island of Ireland and a range of important measures are required to deliver on 2030 commitments, […]
8th December 2020
With a new Energy Strategy set to follow the UK Government’s lead on achieving net zero carbon by 2050, big decisions will be required on how […]
8th December 2020
With a commitment to being 100 per cent renewable by 2037, Calor is poised to help deliver a cleaner economy across the island, explains CEO, Duncan […]
8th December 2020
Innovative energy storage solutions will play an important role in ensuring the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid in the EU at the lowest […]
8th December 2020
Just over one year ago, EirGrid launched a new five-year strategy to transform the Irish electricity system. The strategy will ensure that renewable energy accounts for […]
8th December 2020
Northern Ireland is squandering its position as a global leader in renewable energy, writes Patrick Keatley, lecturer in Energy Policy and Infrastructure at Ulster University. Hindsight […]
8th December 2020
Owners of one of the largest renewable portfolios in Ireland, Brookfield Renewable is driving change across the renewable landscape, making the energy market more accessible and […]
8th December 2020
Although wind projects were the largest beneficiaries of the results of the first auction under the new Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS-1) support for solar signalled […]
8th December 2020
Government support for an enhanced role for bioenergy in Ireland’s future energy mix has not been forthcoming with the major focus remaining on the electricity sector. […]
7th December 2020
John FitzGerald, Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, argues that the increased ambition to tackle climate change must be matched by implementation of new measures […]