Energy security top priority for industry leaders
The green transition is held up by institutional bottlenecks – specifically the planning system – that threaten national competitiveness, the William Fry energy and infrastructure summit has heard.
The event at the College Green Hotel (26 February) saw polling of energy, infrastructure, and technology leaders reveal a gap between Government targets and industry reality:
- 76% are not confident or very concerned about Ireland’s ability to deliver required energy infrastructure,
- 73% cited the planning system as the single largest barrier to progress,
- Energy security is the top priority for 75% of attendees, far outpacing decarbonisation (7%) and affordability (18%).
Nuclear shift
In a significant shift in sentiment, 71% of attendees believe Ireland should explore nuclear energy.
John Fingleton, of Britain’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, said this country could benefit from learning from what had gone wrong there in terms of poor regulation.
He suggested Ireland begin building institutional capacity now to allow for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a future low-carbon option.
“This is an exciting time to look again at nuclear energy. It has become increasingly safe. And there are new technologies emerging that will enable small modular reactors closer to where power is needed,” he said.
IDA response
Minister for Climate Darragh O’Brien said that "energy infrastructure is economic infrastructure," and stated that the Government was now focused on "urgent, large-scale delivery".
IDA Ireland chair Feargal O’Rourke warned that the international perception of Ireland was shifting.
Multinationals were no longer questioning Ireland's capability, but rather its reliability, he said.
"Our competitiveness now rests on execution," O’Rourke stated.
Sectoral bottlenecks
Panel discussions highlighted specific regional and technical hurdles, while Vanessa O’Connell (project director for Dublin Array offshore wind farm) warned that current port facilities were not optimised for the 30–35 GW offshore target by 2050.
Fergus Devine (William Fry head of energy) said: “There is a huge demand for all forms of energy, renewable and dispatchable, to power the industries that will drive economic growth and support Ireland’s growing population.
“The projects are waiting and can be executed and the political will to facilitate energy infrastructure is apparent.”