Green Blog

The European Commission has recently published a communication on EU energy policy that makes interesting reading.  The document discusses where the EU fits in the global energy market, the security of energy supply and related issues such as climate change and energy safety.

The overall objective of the EU’s energy policy is to ensure safe, secure, affordable and sustainable energy supplies.  The global demand for energy is, however, changing rapidly with demand from China and India making a significant impact.  Globally it is estimated that demand will increase by one third between 2008 and 2035, while the EU demand will remain static, and the demand in both China and India is expected to double.  Energy demand in the Middle East is expected to increase by 70% in the same period.

Growth of this magnitude is bound to put pressure on the security of energy supplies to the EU.  At the moment the EU imports about half of all its energy needs from third countries and is the world’s largest energy importer when compared to other regions as the table below shows.  At present trends the EU will import 70% of its entire energy needs by 2030.

Top energy importing countries and regions, 2008 

Source: International Energy Agency

Europe is lucky in so far as it is close to major energy sources for some fuels.  Approximately 85% of natural gas and 50% of crude oil imports into the EU come from nearby Russia, Norway and Algeria.  About 60% of all coal used is produced in the EU and 27% comes from Russia.  The remainder, however, comes from as far away as South Africa, Australia, Colombia and America.  Practically all of the natural uranium used in the EU is imported.

The EU’s heavy reliance on imported energy, combined with the overall growth in global energy demand, is bound to lead to price fluctuations and disruptions to energy supply.  To minimize the risks, the communication discusses the need to invest in energy production and in the infrastructure required to move energy around – both within the EU and between the EU and the sources of supply.  This includes the development of a Southern energy corridor between the EU and the Caspian/Middle East Basin as well as upgrading the Eastern corridor which links the EU to Russia through Belarus and Ukraine.  Developing, and linking to, solar power in North Africa is also discussed.

According to the International Energy Agency, last year has seen the highest level of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and the predicted increase in carbon intensive energy in future years will lead to accelerated climate change.  Some countries are improving energy efficiency but globally there is little change.  The communication states that there is an urgent need for global action on resource efficiency and low carbon energy solutions with demand for renewable energy predicted to triple in the next decade. 

Ireland is well positioned to capitalize on this growing threat to the EU’s energy needs.  We have the potential to satisfy all of our own energy needs from renewable sources and to export renewable energy to the EU.  Our wind potential, combined with pumped storage, can guarantee this form of renewable energy regardless of wind conditions.  We can reduce or eliminate the six billion euro bill that we pay each year for imported fuel and can gain additional revenue from the sale of our energy to other countries.   

The Communication from the EU can be accessed at http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/security_of_supply/doc/sec_2011_1022.pdf

Thanks to the kind readers of this blog who enquired about the absence of new blog posts over the past few months.   The author has been diverted on other fronts over the summer months but is determined to get back to regular communications from now on.

This website (www.greenquest.ie) has undergone significant changes since the early part of 2011.  The most significant change is the ending of the monthly quiz with prizes.  This is due to the drop in sponsorship brought about by the general economic downturn.  The website has always operated on a pro-bono, not-for-profit basis and all sponsorship was given out as prizes, apart from the money paid to the web host.  There is just sufficient funding this year to keep the site open so the quiz and prizes were dropped and the environmental theme pages and an occasional blog were maintained.

The economic downturn has, to some extent, pushed environmental issues off the current affairs agenda.  This is understandable as people worry about job losses, dole queues, emigration, negative equity and mortgage repayments.   Politicians and economic commentators worry about a double dip recession and talk about the need to return to economic growth. 

Global growth in a world of finite resources is difficult to sustain indefinitely, especially in a world where population figures are predicted to pass the 7 billion mark by the end of this year.  Climate change and peak oil can only exacerbate the problem.  At present millions are starving in Somalia, and Texas is experiencing one of the worst droughts since records began.   

The economic collapse in Ireland should be used as a springboard for development that is truly sustainable.  Long term sustainable development is built on three pillars; economic, social and environmental.  Ireland has strong social cohesion and a magnificent environment.  By leveraging these two pillars we can develop the economy along sustainable lines that will not go through cycles of boom and bust but will be steady and sustained.  Exploiting our renewable energy potential, especially wind and pumped storage, should be a priority. 

The need remains to raise environmental awareness, particularly in these tough economic times.  This website was established to make a small contribution to that need with the tag line 'Engage, Inform and Inspire' .  While we can no longer engage people through the offer of monthly prizes we hope that the many hundreds who log on each week will continue to do so.

Green Energy BizCamp is an event being organised in Kilkenny by the Carlow Kilkenny Energy Agency and the Kilkenny Leader Partnership to promote businesses ideas / innovation and job creation in the Green Energy Sector.  The camp is an information sharing event where experienced entrepreneurs and businesses network and share experiences on developing business ideas & products.

BizCamps have been run successfully at various locations around Ireland and last year saw Kilkenny host Ireland’s first ever FoodCamp and WordCamp. These Camps are modeled on the idea of having all of the information of a normal conference but with the added value of greater networking opportunities and without the costs and strict agenda associated traditional conferences.

This will be the first ever Renewable Energy Camp to be run in Ireland and is free for those attending or speaking.  The date is 27^th May and the venue is the Hotel Kilkenny which is on the city’s ring road.   It offers an ideal opportunity to explore the business opportunities in this sector and participate in a panel discussion.

Speakers
The day is subdivided into 18 slots of 45 minutes each (3 concurrent sessions) where speakers are required to participate and present on a topic of their choice. All speakers are voluntary, share experiences and do not attempt a sales pitch. 

At present the agreed speakers include

Michael Prendergast – kilkennycereals.killure.ie
How the Governments pursuit of its renewable energy targets lead to decisions which decimated indigenous Irish renewable businesses in favour of imports.

Tom McEvoy, Lisdowney Wind Farm
Developing a windfarm project – from start to 80% completion.

Joe Heron, www.murrayconsult.ie
Community consultation on Green Energy ptojects.

Tommy Cooke, Renewable Energy Developer
Challenges in setting up an Anaerobic Digestion project.

Peter Kerry – www.carboncandc.com
International standard ISO 14064 for carbon management and brief overview of the EU mandatory emissions trading scheme.

Niall McManus, www.cosain.ie
Using of carbon credits in generating income to match LEADER funds for renewable energy projects.

Frank Gethings – www.EcoEvolution.ie
Archimedean Screw – hydro turbine overview.

Sean Ganley – www.cfgreenenergy.com
Wind turbine space in Ireland for farm, business and home owners.

Dr Edward O’Gorman – www.patentnav.eu
Overview of patents and trade marks in renewable energy area.

Simon Jones – www.aereco.ie
Business development opportunities in each area of renewable energy.

Panelists
There will be a panel discussion in the afternoon to finish off the day. The topic for the panel discussion is “Job Creation & Opportunities in the Green Energy Sector”.

The Panelists confirmed so far are:

Nick McGrath
Nick is the founder of Hybrid Energy who recently closed a successful €800,000 funding round for the provision of reliable, cost effective, and easy to maintain power solutions for off-grid telecommunications base stations worldwide. Their technology enables significant energy savings whilst simultaneously allowing companies to pursue a green strategy using renewable energy sources whether in the heart of the city or in the remotest areas of the globe.

Colm Byrne
Colm is MD at Glas Energy where he has been involved in promoting and selling renewable energy solutions since 2002. Market conditions have declined recently so Colm has had to re-think and re-invent his business.

Pat Blount
Pat is Business Development Manager for Meitheal na Gaoithe and he also owns and operators two wind farms consisting of 7 turbines.  Pat has vast experience and knowledge of the wind industry in Ireland and views on potential business and job opportunities.

Closer to the date you can access the full programme at www.energycamp.ie

Tropical rainforests are the lungs of the planet and play a vital role in regulating levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Deforestation is a major cause of increasing levels of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and various efforts have been made, with little success, to curtail the activities of loggers and ranchers who slash and burn vast areas of tropical forest each year.

Now Guyana, a South American country on the Atlantic coast north of Brazil, has entered into an agreement with Norway to keep its tropical forests intact in return for a cash payment.  Each year Norway will make a payment to Guyana provided the tropical forests are not destroyed and Guyana will use the money on a range of sustainable projects.  In 2011 some $40million is being transferred and the money is being used to install solar panels on houses of indigenous people, to link remote communities to the internet and for other sustainable projects in the area of health, education and business. The total amount of money to be transferred will be calculated on the basis of how successful Guyana is in preventing deforestation but will run into hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 5 years.

This initiative could provide a template for other countries in the developed world to recognize the priceless services that rain forests provide to the entire world.  It can also assist poor countries such as Guyana to make it more profitable to keep the forests intact rather than to cut them down.

Meanwhile, back in Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency has published its forecast for greenhouse gas emissions up to 2020.  The emissions projections are calculated on the basis of the best available economic forecast.  Because of the economic slowdown Ireland will be able to meet its commitments under the United Nations Kyoto Protocol for the 5-year period from 2008 to 2012.  However it will not be able to meet commitments made under the EU Commission’s Energy and Climate Package which commit member states to legally binding emission limits up to 2020.  Even using the best scenario the annual limits will be breached by 2016 and could amount to 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 by 2020.  If the economy recovers faster than predicted then the breach could be even higher than that.

The figures show that we should not rely on an economic recession to meet our climate change obligations.   Instead, we should use this time to develop and implement a new energy strategy that is not dependent on imported fossil fuel.  Fortunately we have the natural resources of wind, wave and tide to free us completely from the stranglehold of the fossil fuel industry.  Using a combination of wind power and pumped water storage we can eliminate our fossil fuel bill of over six billion euro each year.  If our new Government has the foresight and courage of its predecessors, who built the hydro –electric station at Ardnacrusha in the 1920s as the country took its first steps into independence, then we, like Guyana, could become an example for the world.

A week long effort by the United Nations to reach a new agreement on Climate Change ended on 8 April in Bangkok with little signs of progress.  The existing agreement, known as the Kyoto Protocol, ends in December 2012 and it is now accepted that time has run out to have a new agreement in place by that deadline.  The Kyoto Protocol is the only international set of accounting rules that protect the environmental integrity of mitigation efforts of countries around the world.  Hopes were high that a new agreement would be reached at the UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 but that meeting ended in failure and subsequent efforts in Cancun and Bangkok have made little progress. 

Meanwhile recent calculations by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show that wind energy is achieving over a quarter of the emissions reductions required under the current Kyoto agreement.  The association’s Regulatory Affairs Officer, Rémi Gruet said “An international agreement remains absolutely vital but it’s clear that while there’s an impasse in the negotiations, many countries around the globe are getting on with avoiding CO2 emissions by installing wind energy and other renewable energy sources.”
 
EWEA calculations show that at the end of 2010, wind energy across the world avoided 255 Mt of CO2, equivalent to 26% of the emissions reductions commitment of industrialised countries under the Kyoto Protocol and by 2020, wind power should avoid some 69% of the pledges made in Cancun.

Last year in Ireland the annual average wind energy penetration was 11% of total electricity consumed in the country and the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) estimates that Ireland could presently generate 25% of its electricity from the wind with no increase in electricity prices.  If this was done, IWEA estimates that there would be wind turbines scattered across only 1/2 of one percent of the country, assuming no offshore development. There would be thousands of new jobs created in manufacturing and research, and we would be able to avoid EU pollution penalties.  The new Government Ministers in Environment and in Energy should make this a priority.