Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

Given that in the future we will be dependent on gas for electricity generation and that gas will shortly come from Siberia which is at risk of interruption for a number of reasons, is the Minister considering long-term storage systems such as the pumping back of gas into the Seven Heads of Kinsale field as a storage location or the installation or development of an LNG facility to provide some sort of long distance security in view of the eventuality to which Deputy Broughan referred?

In regard to long-term grid structures in which we might invest, rather than the nuclear option, which is ruled out, should we consider a European grid of off-shore wind farms, connected up together, so that we would get over the variability factor in terms of the extent of such a grid from the North Sea to the Portuguese coast which would mean wind would always be blowing at a certain time? This project would be of great significance to Ireland given that we have a huge amount of wind resources which could tap in to such a futuristic grid.

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