Ireland is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels for power generation, but has huge potential for wind power.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced yesterday it will assist in tapping this potential by lending the country up to EUR 500 million to help Ireland secure and green its electricity supplies.
EIB will lend EirGrid, a provider of electricity transmission and market services in Ireland, up to EUR 300 million (AUD 502 million) to assist with the construction of a 256 km cable between Ireland and Wales. The project plays an important role in the development of renewable energy as it will allow the import and export of excess wind power.
ESB, the state owned electricity company of Ireland, will also receive up to EUR 200 million (AUD 335 million) in loans to develop wind power infrastructure in the country. The money will go towards installing 248 megawatts of wind power capacity by 2012, expanding its total wind portfolio to 600 MW by that year. By 2020, one-third of ESB’s generation will be wind-based. ESB has a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2035.
Ireland currently meets 95 percent of its energy needs through imported fossil fuels. According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2007, the country consumed 2.59 million tonnes of imported coal for the year and 194,000 barrels of imported oil a day. Carbon dioxide emissions for the same year came to an estimated 46.86 million tonnes.
The Irish Government has set a target of meeting 40 percent of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020.
