Mr. Declan Meally:

The whole idea with solar, as with EnergyCloud, is the smart use of energy. Smart meters will allow this. Cars are coming out with batteries that will be able to contribute to the grid. At times when energy is needed, it can be taken from the cars. If there was a storm in Kerry a car could power a house for two or three days. This is the battery capacity. The vehicle-to-grid technology that is coming will allow the energy to go two ways.

The solar panels on the house are for solar thermal energy that heats the water through a circuit. Photovoltaic solar energy generates electricity. If a car is parked outside the house during the day it provides an opportunity to charge the car with the energy straight from the sun. Our grant schemes can be availed of in any home, ideally those that are south facing. The opportunities for home energy systems include not only charging a battery but also running a heat pump and feeding the energy system. The system is getting smarter. EnergyCloud particularly looks at low-income homes and putting hot water into the cylinders and topping them up at night. Generally, many of the issues to be addressed in these areas are regulatory as opposed to technical.

I have driven around the Ring of Kerry. We can now see with an app where the charge points are, whether they are being used and the cost of charging. Drivers look at the fuel gauge, the range and how far it is to the nearest charger. People will not go out with fumes in the tank to do the Ring of Kerry. They will make sure they have enough charge to get around. They will make sure they know on the app where the charge points are. They will know whether to go to the hotel they are staying in for an overnight trickle charge to be ready to go again the next day, or to a fast charger in the town. All of this information is on the system.

To go back to the general point on taxi drivers and others, we have to rethink our use of transport as well as our use of energy. People talk about the journey from Dublin to Cork but how often do they make that journey? Are they thinking about the car they are using and the longest journey they would ever do? Are they thinking about what they do five or six days a week? We have seen that 80% of the journeys carried out are less than 80 km long. For a journey from Cork to Dublin people could drive to the train station in Cork, hop on the train and then use a bike to get around Dublin. When they return to Cork, the car is charged. People must think about the best way to use transport. Cars will now allow us to go for 400 km. The faster people drive on the motorway, the more energy they will use. It is the same with petrol or diesel. The heavier people are with the foot the more they will use from the fuel tank. It is about getting used to this behavioural change. The taxi drivers in Dublin to whom we have spoken who use the cars and who have received very generous grants are saving €300 a week on average in fuel costs. There are opportunities and there is a case for doing it.