Energy Minister Eamon Ryan today welcomed the decision by the European Commission to allocate €2.17 million towards sustainable energy projects in Ireland. This funding will be provided to Irish researchers in ocean, wind, geothermal and sustainable transport projects.
This will complement the Government's investment of €149 million to Energy Research under the National Development Plan.
Minister Ryan: We know why Ireland needs to develop alternative forms of energy. We need to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources; we need to deal with the ever-rising cost of oil and we need to tackle climate change. Domestically-produced renewable sources will be pivotal to our solutions.
We have such energy natural resources that could make us the Saudi Arabia of ocean and wind energy – and it’s all free.
Many of these forms of energy are in the development phase or require much more research to make them viable and enhance their effectiveness. I am pleased, therefore, that the European Commission is going to assist in the necessary R & D to develop these technologies.
The energy world is going green. There is no reason why we cannot be at the centre of this global boom – both benefiting from the new industries while at the same time doing our moral and economic duty to mitigate climate change. It’s a clear win-win for Ireland as we face an uncertain energy future.
My job is to alter the ‘business as usual’ scenario that the International Energy Agency warned us would lead to alarming consequences. With energy, the only right thinking is long-term thinking. Beginning with R & D, I intend to harness industry, farmers’ and Government’s willingness to take on the energy challenge.
This funding will help us in this quest.
Note for Editors
Further information on the Successful Projects involving Irish partners
1. Cores, an ocean energy project, is being coordinated by University College Cork. It is focusing on new components and concepts for ocean energy converters. The project will concentrate on the development of new concepts and components for power-take-off, control, moorings, risers, data acquisition and instrumentation based on floating OWC systems.
2. Safewind, involving EirGrid, focuses on the external conditions, resource assessment and forecasting tools for wind energy. The aim of this proposal is to substantially improve wind power predictability in challenging or extreme situations and at different temporal and spatial scales. The project concentrates on using new measuring devices for a more detailed knowledge of the wind speed and energy available at local level.
3. EquiMar is a pre-normative ocean energy research project with involvement from University College Cork. It will deliver a suite of protocols for the equitable evaluation of marine energy converters (based on either tidal or wave energy). These protocols will harmonise testing and evaluation procedures across the wide variety of devices presently available with the aim of accelerating adoption though technology matching and improved understanding of the environmental and economic impacts associated with the deployment of arrays of devices.
4. GroundMed, with active involvement from NUI Dublin, will demonstrate advanced geothermal heat pump (GSHP) systems for heating and cooling of measured in 8 demonstration sites. Integrated systems incorporating new water source heat pumps of improved seasonal efficiency and borehole heat exchangers and heating/cooling systems will be demonstrated.
5. Efonet, with Dublin Institute of Technology as partner, involves the establishment of an energy foresight network. It primarily aims at providing policy relevant input to the EC, notably in relation with the Review of the EU Energy Strategy, the establishment of the Strategic Technology Plan, the implementation of the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.
6. Civitas Mimosa, with Interactions Limited as a key partner, is focused on the development of innovative strategies for clean urban transport. The project explores a number of measures including monitoring traffic flows and analysis of mobility demand and supply and planning initiatives that public administrations and citizens can implement to tackle the problems, thereby achieving the desired behavioural shift.