A webinar on Ireland and the SuperGrid, hosted by Wind Energy Ireland discussed in detail what a SuperGrid is, why it is so vital to Ireland’s energy future and how it ties in with Europe’s climate ambitions and progress towards greater energy autonomy.
Martin Finucane, Principal Officer of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, started off by outlining how fundamentally the energy system around us is changing, and that Europe’s focus on CO2 reductions and climate change has been right.
“However, I do think that Europe has taken its eye off the ball in relation to energy security. Europe has been lulled by easily accessible and relatively cheap gas in particular. We definitely see the [European] policy system now realising that we need to break the link with eastern energy sources permanently, not just temporarily. Therefore, this event could not be more timely,” Finucane said.
“We have a continental scale resource [wind] with a small island electricity demand…We should make use of our national resources to meet that supply crisis in Europe. Working with European partners will be critical to develop the integrated grid system to develop a route to market,” he added.
Some 2,000 GW of renewables will need to be build across Europe in the coming decades for Europe to decarbonise. Marcos Byrne, Chair of WEI SuperGrid working group and SuperNode Market and Policy Analyst, said:
“A SuperGrid offers Europe the opportunity to become energy independent of fossil fuels and reduce the volatility of electricity prices. Developing the SuperGrid for Ireland would allow us to become a net exporter of power.”
Asked how 2,000 GW could be built and where to start, Byrne replied:
“It’s an astronomical number and truly is a challenge. In terms of where to start, I really do think that the establishment of an independent European system operator is vital. That needs to be done in coordination with transmission system operators. We need to start identifying the 2050 needs with respect to capacity. Otherwise these scenarios from the Commission are just scenarios.”
The Wind Energy Ireland webinar featured a key note address from Martin Finucane, Principal Officer of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications as well as insights from Irish Member of the European Parliament Sean Kelly, Head of Future Networks at EirGrid Robbie Aherne, Head of Energy System Integration at WindEurope Vasiliki Klonari, and Chair of WEI SuperGrid working group and SuperNode Market and Policy Analyst Marcos Byrne. The event was moderated by Úna Brosnan Head of Offshore Strategy & New Markets at Mainstream Renewable Power.
The full recording of the webinar can be viewed here.
For more information the full event page can be viewed here.