Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In Ireland, we have a God-given opportunity to play a vital role in climate action. This comes with an opportunity to significantly boost our economy and create substantial employment. Ireland has the untouched potential to develop more than 70,000 MW of offshore renewable energy. We have the natural resources needed to be a major exporter of green energy which could power much of Europe by 2050. We are ideally placed to become a major player in the areas of wind-generated electricity and hydrogen.

To focus on our domestic situation, Ireland is expected to continue to experience strong and sustained growth in electricity demand between now and 2030. We have already heard signals that power outages are a possibility in the months ahead. It was estimated some time ago that Ireland's total electricity requirement would increase by up to 53% by 2030. Key drivers of this growth in demand include our own economic growth. Significant economic growth is forecast, particularly in high-energy industries such as the data centre and electric vehicle industries.

The reliable provision of energy is increasingly seen as a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment. Multinational companies place high value on locating to a country where their needs can be met. Rather than highlighting the drain on our energy sources data centres cause, Ireland should instead focus on the means we have to meet these needs. Although solar and onshore wind generation can and will play a role, offshore wind is the only technology with the scale and deployment capacity to meet this demand in full.

While Government has already designated seven offshore wind projects with the aim of supplying more than 3,000 MW of electricity to the national grid, this only scratches the surface of Ireland's potential. With the exception of one of these projects, all are located on the eastern side of the country. The vast potential that exists naturally on the south-eastern and western coasts has been largely overlooked up to this point. This not only excludes these areas from the opportunity to exploit their enormous potential for development and employment but also robs these areas of the country of the lucrative capacity to develop and capitalise on the economic gains that arise from supplying offshore renewable energy.

The largest port in Ireland is situated on the west coast, at Foynes. It has the potential to tap into almost 70 GW of power that could be generated off the western seaboard. In July, the port company published a report it had commissioned which identified the potential to create up to 20,000 jobs in manufacturing and a further 10,000 jobs by 2050 in staging, installation, operations and maintenance of wind farms. There is a need to designate Foynes Port and the Shannon Estuary as a European centre of excellence for the manufacture of offshore renewable energy technology.

That technology is based on commonsense and it should happen. It is crucial to Ireland's economic and global competitiveness that this potential does not remain untapped.

Capitalising on the onshore wind industry has been a big success for Ireland. The opportunity to continue to avail of onshore wind energy remains, but this is dependent on the ability to access it. According the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, Ireland has a theoretical wind resource of 12,000 MW, although onshore wind is highly unlikely to be able to be deployed at a sufficient rate to meet future demand and European Union targets. Therefore, while onshore wind will continue to play an invaluable role in future renewable energy capacity, it will fall significantly short of meeting future demand. This is why we must prioritise and invest in the development of offshore energy now. The future will not wait for us.

Ireland must exploit its enormous potential for offshore energy development. If Ireland is to meet its future forecasted demand through to 2030 and beyond, the simple truth is it cannot be done without development and use of offshore wind. Ireland, like countries across the world, must continually strive to grow and develop. As a smaller country we must endeavour to ensure this growth and development is not focused on the larger centres of population but spread across the country to create balance.

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