Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need energy for heat, light, transport, communications, agriculture and every aspect of our daily lives. Over recent months, we have become much more aware of the importance of energy security following the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin and his use of energy as a weapon. In recent weeks we have seen him target energy facilities and water supplies in Ukraine. Putin’s use of energy as a weapon is not just affecting Ukraine; it has sent shock waves across Europe. Ireland has been affected, so it is timely that we are having this debate on energy security. Energy security has become a tight balancing act between supply and demand. The crippling cost of energy is having a detrimental impact on householders and businesses. The market conditions for energy have been radically altered following Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine.

Aligned with this are our climate change targets, which mean we must radically reduce carbon emissions across each sector. County Clare has a long, proud history of producing electricity. It has more than played its part in providing energy for the entire country. The first major energy generation project on this island to provide electricity was in Ardnacrusha. In its early years, Ardnacrusha provided for more than 90% of our electricity needs. To this day, Ardnacrusha still feeds electricity into the national grid. This project was ahead of its time. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of accompanying the Tánaiste on a visit to the plant at Ardnacrusha. We were given a tour and an aerial overview of the development of the facility. Following the oil crisis in 1973, the then Government decided to reduce our dependence on oil for electricity generation and started construction on the coal burning station at Moneypoint in County Clare. This has produced safe electricity for generations and provided for up to 45% of our electricity needs. In recent times, over the past year in fact, Moneypoint has come to the rescue of the country. Its life has been extended and it is providing a huge amount of electricity again.

The story does not end there. A number of interested parties have been drawing up plans to invest in green energy projects based in the Shannon Estuary and off the coast of County Clare. These plans include floating offshore wind farms, wave generators and the manufacture of green hydrogen. These projects have the potential to be transformational. It is important that the Government helps green energy companies to grasp these opportunities. I acknowledge the establishment of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce. I look forward to it reporting and an action plan being rolled out to support the development of global leading green energy hub in the Shannon Estuary.

The Government needs to listen to green energy stakeholders and bring about the necessary regulatory reform that would pave the way for the development of high-scale green energy projects delivering jobs and opportunities for investment in west Clare and securing our energy needs into the future. The Moneypoint power plant site with its high-powered connections to the national grid would provide an ideal base for these operations. I have engaged with stakeholders involved in the green energy sector. I have met them and they have a number of specific requests particularly in the area of floating offshore wind turbines. I ask the Minister to engage with them. There is a need to accelerate credible projects to meet our 2030 targets. Currently, there are proposals to deliver 28 GW of offshore wind. The target is just 7 GW by 2030. We need to prioritise those projects and make sure they go ahead.

There are issues relating to licensing. I refer, for example, to a foreshore licence application that has been waiting two and a half years to be signed off on. That is just not good enough. In other jurisdictions, such as, for example, the UK, that can be done in a matter of weeks. There is a need for a whole-of-government development plan for the development of floating offshore wind projects. I encourage the Government to do that.

Being at the end of the pipeline when it comes to the European gas grid could mean paying a premium price for not being in a position to build up reserves during the summer months as our European partners have done. We have climbed a mountain to secure gas supplies for this winter, but now it is time for us to make decisive decisions to secure our gas supplies, at an economical price, for the years to come. These decisions must be made on the best scientific advice available and must not be based on ideological objections. This summer we saw all the other European countries aim to build up their gas reserves to 100% capacity at their storage facilities. We all know that they managed to build up their reserves to more than 85% before the gas from Russia ceased to flow due to alleged technical faults with the pipelines and a mysterious explosion in the Baltic Sea. We have no intelligence or knowledge as to whether the pipelines will be operational next year. If they are not, we will once again be at the end of the queue, especially if we do not have any storage capacity.

There have been at least two serious applications to build an LNG processing and storage facility on the banks of the Shannon Estuary. This proposal was first made nearly 20 years ago. It progressed through the planning process at a snail’s pace. Investors had the foresight 20 years ago to see that Ireland was going to have a problem if it did not construct a gas storage facility. That was then, but we are on the cliff edge now. Will we escape blackouts this year? We probably will, but at enormous cost. We cannot guarantee to have energy security over the next ten to 15 years if we do not take the urgent steps now to secure our energy supplies.

Another factor that needs to be examined is the feasibility of converting Moneypoint power station to gas. If there was a safe, secure LNG base nearby on the Shannon Estuary, that would be a possibility. Recent reports have highlighted possible shortages in our generation capacity at peak demand times and this has caused considerable concern for the elderly, those living alone, particularly those with backup power systems for medical support units based in their homes, and for those operating nursing homes and medical facilities. How will they be protected? I am not just talking about the risk to these networks if we have power outages for energy shortages but the damage occurring to our electricity networks following storms which seem to be becoming stronger and with more frequency every winter.

We have all transferred from our old landlines to a more digital world of mobile phones and the Internet in order to communicate.

These are vital and essential to rescue operations. It is vital we have a backup system to power these services in emergency events. If we have power outages, will these be managed in the same way as in the past, with different zones being at risk for rotating three-hour periods?

Do the authorities that are advertising for vulnerable customers to contact their electricity suppliers to register their vulnerable concerns need to register with EirGrid, which manages the entire network? What will happen to these consumers if power outages are necessary? The Minister of State might let us know what plans are being put in place to keep us up to date.

Has the Minister of State or any of his officials conducted any studies on the effects of not adopting winter time next week or in subsequent years on our peak hour demands between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and whether it would reduce our overall demands for the entire winter?

I am also picking up a fair degree of cynicism regarding the installation of smart meters in our homes. Most of the benefits seem to be accruing to the suppliers and may even put the consumer at some disadvantage. We may need to update the software to show the consumer their consumption in previous years to see if they are reducing or increasing it. We might also examine the feasibility of providing this information on our bills so we can work on individual climate change targets. At a national level, we might also provide more user-friendly graphics on our energy dashboards to show how we are meeting our voluntary targets of reducing our consumption by 15%.

I think we were all disappointed this week by the figures on completion of retrofitting projects. I am a great believer in the use of the carrot along with the stick. Would the Minister of State consider a possible property tax reduction of 5% for five years for those who completed retrofitting their homes and the same for those who have installed solar panels on their homes?

I welcome this debate, but I am afraid we will be discussing this complex subject of energy security regularly over the years ahead.

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