You are on page 1of 7

Irelands Transition

from Fossil Fuel


Dependence to a
Low Carbon Future
The typical Irish home traditionally
uses peat and coal for heating and
cooking.

Peat/Turf

Coal

Until recently, hundreds of thousands of tones of American and


Columbian coal were burned each year to fuel Irelands eight
primary power stations, bringing electricity into 1.5 million
households.
F ossil Fuel Energy Consumption
94

92

PERCENT OF TOTAL USE


90

88

86

84

82

80
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
YEAR

In the 24 years I lived in Ireland fossil fuel consumption


accounted for an average of 85.34% of the National
energy use. This is residential and industry energy and
excludes vehicle emissions from automobiles, rail and
planes.
Why would a country that is traditionally
dependent on fossil fuel switch to renewable?
 The Paris Climate Agreement and the EU Renewable Energy
Directive.
 Over 47% of peatland habitats have been lost to mechanical turf
cutting and over exploitation. Peatlands make-up 20% of the total
land mass of the country. This has led to increased flooding.
 Loss of biodiversity in Peatlands is leading to a loss of culture and
suppression of archaeological discoveries.
 Ireland has a comprehensive government medical program. The
costs of fossil fuel related illnesses are enormous. One third of Irish
children today have asthma.
 Independence from foreign fossil fuels. Currently 85% dependent on
foreign imports. (5.7 Billion Euros)
 Employment
What does the current trend look like?
How??
• In 2015, renewable energy
accounted for ¼ of all electricity
use, reducing the amount of fossil
fuel related CO2 emissions by 300
million tones.
• Of the 8 power stations that ran on
peat fuel, only three remain and
they burn on a 50/50 biomass ratio.
• The government enacted
protective legislation to protect
bog lands and the energy board
can no longer purchase privately
harvested peat to fuel power plants
and banned the sale of smoky fuel.
Fossil fuel dependence in
Ireland has decline from a high  In January 2017, Irelands Government enacted ground
of 93.28% in 2004 to 77.1 in breaking legislation that forces its own Irish Strategic
2015. That is an overall Investment fund to divest itself of over 8 Billion Euros of
decrease of 16.18% in 11 years. holdings in fossil fuel corporations.
Summary of Success and Future
Plans:
 Ireland has successfully implemented a mitigation plan utilizing strict
legislation supported with growth in renewable energy availability.
While I have shown you a few, there are currently 132 individual
mitigation measures enacted in Ireland.
 Ireland plans to be completely dependent on renewable energy for
powerplants by 2050 and completely free of fossil fuel in all sectors by
the end of the century.
 Aran Island Energy Cooperative: Economics motivated transition. Strictly
solar power and sell back to the grid. Government incentives are being
pushed for more communities to do this.
 Further legislation: Carbon Tax, Emissions Trading, Near Zero Energy
Building Standards, Incentives for low carbon transport, etc,.
 Circular Economy: One industry is fueled by the waste of another
industry.
REFERENCES

Holland, M., & Howley, M. (n.d.). Renewable Electricity in Ireland 2015(pp. 1-32) (Ireland, Department of Communications,
Climate Action and Environment, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland).

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, European Commission, Energy. (2009). DIRECTIVE
2009/28/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL (140th ed., Ser. 16, pp. 1-47). Official Journal of the European
Union.

Heat Roadmap Europe. (2017). European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme [Brochure]. Author.
Retrieved October 29, 2017, from http://www.heatroadmap.eu/resources/29882_Brochure_Heating-and-
Cooling_web%20(1).pdf

Ireland, Department of the Taoiseach, Roinn an Taoisigh. (n.d.). Draft National Risk Assessment 2016: Overview of Strategic Risks.

European Union, European Systematic Risk Board. (2016). Too late, too sudden: Transition to a low-carbon economy and
systemic risk (pp. 1-22).

Mcglade, C., & Ekins, P. (2015). The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to 2 °C. Nature,
517(7533), 187-190. doi:10.1038/nature14016

Ireland: Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/ireland/fossil-fuel-energy-consumption

Toma, Y., Yamada, T., Fernández, F. G., Nishiwaki, A., Hatano, R., & Stewart, J. R. (2015). Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions
in aMiscanthus sinensisAndersson-dominated semi-natural grassland in Kumamoto, Japan. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition,
62(1), 80-89. doi:10.1080/00380768.2015.1117944

White, A., & Brown, M. (n.d.). Unlocking Ireland’s biomass potential –converting Moneypoint coal fired power station to
sustainable biomass. (Strategic Policy Analysis). BW Energy

Lallanilla, M. (2013, July 29). Turf Wars: Irish Fighting Ban on Peat Harvesting. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
https://www.livescience.com/38498-ban-on-turf-cutting-peat.html

You might also like