I have fond memories of my year in Ireland when I was studying for my Bachelor of Arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology. This is why I am particularly happy to note that the country has ambitious renewable energies goals for 2020.
Ireland is indeed willing to have 40 percent of its electricity coming from renewable energy sources by 2020 compared to only around 13 percent today. As you can imagine, this will require a lot of commitment.
This may be feasible as the country has for obvious reasons one of the best potentials in wind and ocean energy in the continent.
Hydroelectricity production is remaining quite steady but given the explosion of electricity consumption, its share has fallen from 41 percent in 1960 to less than two percent today.
Currently, two third of Irish electricity come from natural gas, the quasi totality coming from a single transit point in Scotland. This makes the country very vulnerable.
Like the European Union, Ireland is willing to cut its energy consumption by twenty percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, in accordance to EU guidelines.To do so, it has outlined a comprehensive plan with 90 measures and actions.
I don’t know how the local government plans to finance all this, but I have a suggestion…