Ireland, which is the third largest island in Europe, has limited energy resources ranging from gas, oil, coal, hydro-biomass and the renewables(Energy report 2011, pg.12). It is estimated that Ireland imports 88% of its energy and this is worrying since it shows a high dependence on imported energy. Currently, oil supply covers about half of the energy needs of Ireland then followed by coal and peat then gas. Over the years, the use of gas has steadily increased and there is the growth of the renewables which have the potential for growth in future.These sources present a great opportunity for Ireland to tap in to reduce the amount of energy it imports.
It is evidently clear that there has been a sharp decline in the usage of coal and peat from 35% in the 1990’s era to 16% currently(ER 2011, pg. 17). Statistics have shown that there has been a sharp increase in energy usage between the years 1900 and 2000. The households and services sector still leads in terms of energy consumption with 42% followed by the transport sector at 35% then industry at 20% and non-energy uses at 3%. Consumption of oil and oil products increased greatly during the 1990 and 2000 years. This is also the same period whereby there was a high consumption rate of electricity with the residential and tertiary sectors registering the highest consumption rates of electricity. Natural gas also increased rapidly during this period with electricity being the main consumer of this natural gas.
The greatest issue facing the Ireland economy at the moment is the increased dependency in imported gas and oil and the lack of commercial and sustainable discoveries of the new offshore hydrocarbon fields.According to forecasts by the Economic and Social Research Institute, the total consumption would be lower in 2020 than what the demand currently is. According to the Energy in Ireland report(2012), the transport sector remains the most challenging sector, which still consumes more energy than that used for electricity generation or heat(pg.3).It is projected that the transport sector would play a key role in this projected demand with a drop of 1% in energy demand. The drop would be attributed to the assumptions on oil prices and efficiency measures put in place and more informed customer choices. For example with the new carbon based vehicle taxation scheme, average Carbon dioxide gas emissions have fallen by 22%. For the industrial energy demand use, it is projected that between the years 2010 and 2020, there would be an 11.1%. The higher growth of industries and the demand for more products from these industries is expected to play a role in this expected demand with industries shifting to more efficient energy sources. The residential energy demand is also expected to go down come 2020 with more renewable energy sources being employed. According to Upton and Humphreys (2013), it is expected by 2020 that the energy consumption for the agricultural sector is expected to go down given the dynamic electricity pricing system. The system would allow consumers, farmers for this case, to use electricity during the off peak hours which would increase their profitability. The efficient use of energy is viewed as one of the ways of improving the Irish dairy sector which is the most dominant in the agricultural sector. It is argued that a combination of technology that decouples energy use from milking times with energy efficient technology would improve the economic and environmental competitiveness of the dairy sector (pg. 6497).
It is expected that the electricity demand is expected to rise with a peak demand expected in 2021. To curb this rising demand, some of these power plants are expected to undergo refurbishment including great Island, Tarbert, Marina and Poolberg. There is also the Bord and Mona gas projects expected to commence early next year just to sustain the demand. Plans are underway to ensure that renewable energy sources account 40% of electrical consumption by 2020. Ireland is mostly dependent on gas from the United Kingdom, but Bord gas has embarked on an ambitious project of developing gas infrastructures by 2025 with connections to urban areas and households. This is expected to meet the demand for gas which is projected to increase by a 300% margin. All these trends would be done in line with the Sustainable energy Authority’s objectives of improving energy efficiency, low carbon energy sources and use of innovation and integration for a low-carbon future.
References
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Howley, M., Dennehy, E., & O gallchóir, B. (2009). Energy efficiency in Ireland: [report]. [Dublin], Sustainable energy Ireland.
O' mahony, Tadhg. (2010). Energy-Related Carbon Emissions in Ireland: Scenarios to 2020. Dublin Institute of Technology.
Publishing, O., & Agency, I. E. (2013). Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2013 Market Trends and Projections to 2018. Paris, OECD Publishing.
Publishing, O., & Agency, I. E. (2013). Natural Gas Information 2013 with 2012 Data. Paris, OECD Publishing. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=1389107.
Upton, J., Humphreys, J., Groot koerkamp, P. W., French, P., Dillon, P., & De boer, I. J. (2013). Energy demand on dairy farms in Ireland. Journal of dairy science -champaign illinois-. 96, 6489-6498.
