Eirgrid operates and develops Ireland’s electricity grid. This includes interconnecting to neighbouring grids and running the wholesale electricity market. Eirgrid ensures that everyone has power when they need it, at the most economic price possible.

The grid safely brings power from generators to the ESB network that supplies every home, farm, community and business in Ireland.

Eirgrid are making the grid ready to carry 70% of Ireland’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

This week Eirgrid have opened the Laois Kilkenny Community Benefit Fund. Read about it here https://www.eirgridgroup.com/newsroom/eirgrid-to-open-laois-kil/index.xml

https://www.eirgridgroup.com/site-files/library/EirGrid/Shaping_Our_Electricity_Future_Plain_English_Summary.pdf 

“As the world gathers in Glasgow to tackle global warming, Ireland has publishing the Climate Action Plan 2021. This plan sets a roadmap for taking decisive action to halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net zero no later than 2050, as committed to in the Programme for Government.”

The Climate Action Plan has been published and is online here: https://assets.gov.ie/203558/f06a924b-4773-4829-ba59-b0feec978e40.pdf

An infographic booklet is also available here: https://assets.gov.ie/203546/a183a324-40ed-49c9-b630-bab0fbdd2ce2.pdf

Chapter 11 is the electricity section and the targets for 2030 are identified as:

Actions are listed on pages 99 and 100.

To meet the required levels of emissions reduction by 2030, we will:

• Reduce CO2 eq emissions from the sector to a range of 2 to 4 MiCO2 eq by 2030
• Carry out a work programme to identify a route to deliver 1.3 TWh of zero emissions gas (incuding green hydrogen) by 2030, potentially equivalent to 0.2 – o.4 MICO2 eq abatement
• Increasing the share of electricity demand generated from renewable sources to up to 80% where achievable, without compromising security of electricity supply
• At least 500 MW of these renewables will be delivered through local community-based projects subject to competition as appropriate
• Deliver circa 2 GW of new flexible gas fired power stations in support of a high variable renewable electricity system
• Delivery of three new transmission grid connection or interconnectors to Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the EU
• Explore further interconnection, including hybrid interconnectors (combined cross border transmission network with offshore renewable generation) to other countries
• Expand and reinforce the grid, through the addition of lines, substations and new technologies
• Complete the phase-out of coal and peat-fired electricity generation
• Ensure that 20-30% of system demand is flexible by 2030

David Thompson from Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny was the September winner of the Ecopower Supply quarterly E-bike customer draw.

David was presented with his brand new E-Bike by Ecopower Supply director Phil Kenealy at ebikes Ireland, Kilkenny on 11 Oct 2021.

You will have no doubt seen in the news, the cost of supplying electricity has continued to rise steeply and is currently at an all-time high due to an unprecedented increase in the wholesale electricity market prices. Ecopower Supply, as a new supplier offering 100% wind generated electricity to our customers, has made every effort to keep our prices as low as possible and for as long as possible, but we can no longer offer rates that are unsustainable. So regrettably we are announcing an increase of 20% in our prices from Friday 8^th October 2021. The price increase will be partially offset by a reduction in the PSO levy by €2.22 per month from 1^st October. Prices have been updated on the Ecopower Supply page of this website.

Our existing customers who are within a 12-month contract, can Switch to another Supplier within 30-days of this Notice and we will not charge the usual €50 penalty for exiting the contract. You are welcome to email us at supply@ecopower.ie if you want to discuss the price rise or cancellation of your contract. Of course, we hope that our existing customers will stay with us and continue to avail of our 100% Green Electricity offering.

School poster final Irish and Eng

More than 104,000 copies of the attached wind energy education poster will be carried across a number of regional newspapers throughout September.

Wind Energy Ireland would love to see photographs of copies of these papers with the poster in order to share them on social media.

The following is a list of dates and titles where the infographic will appear:

W/C 20^th September – Kilkenny People and Leinster Express

Tuesday 21^st September – Westmeath Examiner

Wednesday 22^nd September – The Kerryman

Thursday 23^rd September – The Examiner

Tuesday 28^th September – The Western People Mayo, The Waterford News and Star, The Kildare Nationalist and the Laois Nationalist

Thursday 30^th September – The Corkman

www.windenergyireland.com

Margaret Hynes from New Ross, Co. Wexford  was the June winner of the Ecopower Supply quarterly E-bike customer draw.

Margaret was presented with her brand new BMW e-bike by Ecopower Supply director Phil Kenealy at J Donohoe BMW Enniscorthy, who supplied the e-bike.

Fit for 55: EU rolls out largest ever legislative package in pursuit of climate goals

Today, 14 July 2021, the European Commission adopted the Fit for 55 package. Fit for 55 aims to put the bloc on course to meet its ambitious target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to 1990 levels, aligning EU policy with the ambitious political mandates of the Green Deal and EU Climate Law.

The below link shows a series of 13 cross-cutting legislative proposals include 8 revisions of existing legislation and 5 brand new proposals and some background information, analysis, as well as the FSR position on a few of the initiatives that are particularly pertinent to the energy transition.

https://fsr.eui.eu/fit-for-55-eu-rolls-out-largest-ever-legislative-package-in-pursuit-of-climate-goals/

Winner of the Ecopower Supply Electric Bike for March 2021 – John Ryan, The Learning Lab, Celbridge, with his daughter Zosia.

Wind Energy Ireland have launched a pathway to a net-zero Irish energy system by 2050.

Our Climate Neutral Future: Zeroby50 is published today by MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, hosted by University College Cork, on behalf of Wind Energy Ireland.

It shows that a net-zero energy system is possible, it is cost-effective and it has the potential to create more than 50,000 jobs as part of building a new foundation for the Irish economy.

Our Climate Neutral Future: Zeroby50 is a call to action for the Government and for every level of Irish society. It sets out Ireland’s decarbonisation pathway to becoming truly energy independent and delivering warmer homes, cleaner air and more efficient transport.

This report shows how the Climate Action Bill, launched last week, can be delivered and it was welcomed today by Minister Eamon Ryan as “…an important and valuable contribution to the debate. It shows not only how we can decarbonise but how we can do so in a way that builds our economy and delivers a cleaner, more sustainable and secure future for us all.”

Time to act

Dr Paul Deane, of MaREI in UCC and the report’s lead author, said: “This is our blueprint to a cleaner future and demonstrates that producing our own renewable energy in Ireland delivers benefits beyond climate action in terms of employment, warmer homes, cleaner transport and reduces our reliance on imported fossil fuel to near zero.”

Wind Energy Ireland CEO Dr Connolly said: “A net-zero energy system by 2050 is absolutely achievable. It is also essential and it will be powered by electricity. To get to net-zero energy by 2050 we must get to net-zero electricity by 2035. Clean, Irish, wind energy will be what heats our homes and gets us to work in the morning. We know what we need to do. Now is the time to act.

“We need to bring together policymakers and leaders at every level of Irish society to drive the essential changes and the reforms, to bring the same level of urgency to reducing our carbon emissions as we did to flattening the Covid curve.

“It is essential that the new Climate Action Plan gives some independent body, such as the Climate Change Advisory Council, the power and the authority to unite us all behind a shared common goal of a zero-carbon, energy independent, Ireland.”