Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. It is fair to say Ireland faces a perfect storm, if Senators will excuse the pun, in respect of energy security issues, with low winds, pandemic delays and two power plants going down. That said, it is critical we reduce the overall demand for energy. Current Government policies have been likened to trying to go down an escalator that is going up.

We are an outlier when it comes to data centres. The EU average for data centres is 2% of energy demand whereas in Ireland they now account for 15% of our energy mix, with the potential to reach 30% by 2030. We need a moratorium on data centres until we can, at least, get our grid and renewable energy on track. Nobody is denying that we need data centres. People like to say that "you are using social media and you are happy to work from home", but it is very clear that Ireland has a disproportionate number of these data centres. They are not all providing essential services. In fact,The Business Post reported this week that the biggest energy consumer of data centres in Ireland is Amazon Web Services, which aids fossil fuel companies to identify, extract and transport oil and gas faster through its cloud logistics. It is part of the problem. We deserve transparency when it comes to how much we are paying these companies, if we have to ask them to turn down their energy demand or to use their on-site gas terminals. That information is not in the public domain and the public deserve to have information on how much it is costing us. It is not as simple as just asking data centres to power down and them saying okay.

We face medium-term supply issues as Corrib winds down and our renewables ramp up. Now is the time for us to make prudent decisions about our energy mix and not look at locking us into a fossil fuel future or leaving us on the hook for stranded assets. I absolutely disagree on the nuclear question. Nuclear energy might not have carbon emissions but we have a huge problem with the pollution that comes with it. It is a distraction from the very ambitious goals we have around renewable energy targets. We should focus on them. Nor is building LNG terminals the answer, as they would lock us into importing fossil fuels for decades. They are infrastructural projects with a 30-year lifespan whereas we only have a short-term energy problem over the next decade until we get our renewable energy and storage up to speed. If we go down the road of putting out contracts for the likes of terminals and allow them to go ahead then we are locked in, as a signatory of the Energy Charter Treaty, if we try to phase those out. We have seen what happened to the Dutch. In 2009 when gas prices were very high they decided to encourage coal plants to open up. They then tried to close those coal plants down faster and they are now on the hook for billions of euro.

We know the answer to energy security is more renewable energy. One of the stumbling blocks we have is of course the marine planning framework, which is very detailed legislation needed to pave the way for those very ambitious targets but we cannot sacrifice biodiversity on the altar of emissions reductions. That is why I am keen to see the marine protected zones being designated simultaneously, or at least being pencilled in, so we know where we should not put the offshore wind farms. Not only is that good for biodiversity but it is also protecting our marine environment and our wildlife out there, which is the largest carbon sink, though many people are not aware of that. It is also vital we learn from the many mistakes of onshore wind, that we work with communities, that the communities where that wind is going to be brought ashore feel that benefit and that the small fishing communities feel the benefit of the offshore wind terminals.

The second stumbling block to our becoming energy secure is the lack of a hydrogen strategy. We are one of only two EU countries that does not have such a strategy. There is definitely a place for green hydrogen. When I refer to hydrogen I obviously do not mean blue, grey or pink. Green hydrogen storage is an essential part of the move to fully renewable energy and will close the gap from intermittency. I would also like to ensure we can stand up to the vested interests that oppose our reaching of our renewable energy targets. It was deeply concerning to hear Phillp Boucher-Hayes's podcast talking about the impact horse breeders from outside the country were having on the planning systems in County Kildare and their resistance to battery storage in that area. It is important we stand up to those interests as well.