A new energy roadmap released by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) states the country could avoid more than 250 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 through the deployment of wind power, smart grid technology and greater uptake of electric vehicles for transport.
According to the Wind Energy Roadmap (PDF), one of three sections contained in the SEAI report, renewable energy in the form of onshore and offshore wind power is central to Ireland’s future energy policy.
Wind energy has the potential to greatly exceed domestic demand and could lead to Ireland becoming a net exporter of renewable energy to continental Europe and the UK, with the economic value of electricity generated by wind reaching almost EUR 15 billion by 2050.
This would see Ireland deploying between 11GW – 16GW of onshore wind and 30GW of offshore wind by 2050 – an overall contribution of 2.5 percent of the EU’s electricity demand.
The potential for job creation from the wind industry alone would be vast. The roadmap forecasts annual investment on the Irish sector to reach €6 billion and €12 billion by 2040. “Wind has a cumulative Investment potential of €100 – €200 billion in 2050,” the report states.
The SEAI Roadmap builds on the work of the International Energy Agency’s roadmap series, which plots the course for various nations reliant on dirty fuels to clean up their acts by switching to renewable energy sources.
Professor J. Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of SEAI, says the Roadmap will help Ireland navigate a path to a clean energy future.
“The Roadmaps unveiled today are a further important mapping of the long term opportunities in energy and the road to a decarbonised energy system for Ireland. They show a great many benefits, including reduced energy imports leading to increased security of supply, increased use of renewables leading to lower CO2 emissions and significant employment and economic opportunities.”
