Speeches
Speech Fiona O’Malley launch of Power for the People the Progressive Democrat Discussion Document on Energy 9th March 2006.
Speech Fiona O’Malley launch of Power for the People the Progressive Democrat Discussion Document on Energy 9th March 2006.
Good Afternoon,
I would like to welcome you to the launch of Power for the People the Progressive Democrats discussion document on energy.
It is particularly appropriate that we launch this document in this, the Royal College of Physicians. In the 1850’s this institution was founded by Doctors such as Graves and Stokes pioneers in the development of the clinical training of physicians the leading lights of the Dublin School of Medicine when Dublin was a centre of excellence for medical best practice. Just as they made Dublin a centre of excellence for medical training their successors in the physical sciences can make Ireland a centre of excellence for the renewable energy industry.
Over the last year Energy has shot to the top of Policy Makers agendas as the price of oil has rocketed from $32 a barrel in January 2004 to $68 a barrel in January 2006. Some experts have claimed that oil could easily reach $100 a barrel, and some individuals are even predicting that oil could reach $180 dollars a barrel.
The civilisation of the 20th century and the unprecedented prosperity which the nations of the developed world enjoyed was built on cheap energy, specifically cheap oil. The era of cheap oil is well and truly over.
But concerns about energy are not confined to cost; many scientists now believe that the profligate use of carbon based energy sources such as oil and coal are leading to global climate change with potentially disastrous results for the planet and for human civilisation as we know it.
What does this mean for Ireland? For start Ireland is more vulnerable to energy shocks than most of the rest of the world.Almost 90% of our energy supplies are now imported- the highest level in our history. In terms of natural gas, which is critical to our production of electricity, we are the last link in the chain of pipelines that stretch from the icy wastes of Siberia through Russia, Europe and the UK to this Island.
Energy matters, it matters to the economy, as a senior IDA executive said to me “I can finesse my way out of practically anything when I am selling Ireland, but I can’t sell Ireland, if the lights go out”. The knowledge Economy where Ireland aspires to lead, is powered by electricity. Intel is one of the largest users of electricity in the State. The average sized data centre, the factories of the digital age, use as much power as Dublin Airport every day. But it’s not only the economy, think of the lifesaving equipment in hospitals, from incubators to MRI scanners. To bring it to its most basic level anyone who has tried to heat a babies bottle in the middle of a power cut knows just how critical energy is to the way we live today.
The threat to Ireland of any energy shock is profound not only to our economy and prosperity but to our way of life. The paradox is that we are potentially better placed to meet that challenge than almost any nation in Europe.
Ireland has some of the best wind and wave energy potential of anywhere on the planet and an excellent climate for growing biomass. Although oil and gas exploration off Ireland’s shores has proved disappointing to date, the extensive exploration acreage available and our relatively small energy requirements make the prospect of energy self-sufficiency a realistic option.
Not only could we do a great deal to secure our energy needs domestically but we have the potential to create a world class renewable energy industry in Ireland. To do in effect what we did with IT on the 1990’s, i.e. become a world class centre for a cutting edge industry.
To unlock the full potential of renewable energy in Ireland will require investment by Government and the private sector, research and development, but above all the wisdom to understand the scale of the threat; vision to see the size of the opportunity and the courage to commit the resources to grasp that opportunity.
Let nobody make any mistake, energy in the 21st century is what the economy was in the 1980’s; the great challenge for Ireland, but the opportunity is as least as great. In every industry in which Ireland competes we are technology takers, the implementors somebody else’s bright ideas we now have the opportunity to become the people with the bright ideas to power the future. Technology Leaders, rather than technology takers.
This discussion document is designed to chart a road map to achieving that vision. We do not claim to have all the ideas but we do want to start the debate and put energy policy at the heart of the Government Agenda.
Oil is the world’s most important energy source, accounting for over 35% of total commercial energy production. If you ask the man in the street why energy costs have been rising they would point to invasion of Iraq and instability in the Middle East. In point of fact the real driver has been increased demand from a growing world economy and the explosive growth of China which has now surpassed Japan as the single greatest user of oil after the United States. China’s insatiable appetite for oil is set to continue, most analysts believe that in the next 20 years China’s consumption of oil will grow by between 100 and 150%.
The just as Europe was learning to live with increased oil prices we got another major shock when Russia cut of supplies of gas to the Ukraine and in doing so impacted upon the gas supplies of the European Union. As North Sea Gas stocks disappear Europe will become increasingly dependent on gas from Russia, at present Russian gas accounts for a ¼ of Europe’s gas consumption but that is predicted to rise greatly in the future. Russia’s actions were a wake-up call to Europe.
Quite apart from cost there is a growing debate within the oil industry as to whether or not we are approaching the point of peak oil production, the point of maximum extraction. The simple fact of the matter is that we do not know, and in all probability we will not know the answer to that question until after the fact. All we do know is that the oil will eventually run out, the question is when.
Apart from cost and energy, the phenomena of Global climate change has been exercising the minds of policymakers and the public. Climate change is a fact. The climate of the earth has always been in a state of flux, the question is, are we contributing to climate change through the production of carbon from the burning of fossil fuels? Some of the recent evidence is troubling. We are now experiencing the highest temperatures in Northern Europe for a thousand years, and the increase in temperature dates from the 20th century when the use of fossil fuels exploded.
Unfortunately a warmer world does not necessarily mean a warmer Ireland. in point of fact it could mean the exact opposite. On the screen you can see a satellite image of the Gulf Stream, the warm current which as it moves north becomes the North Atlantic drift. This current warms Europe and means that temperatures in Norway in winter are a full 30 degrees higher than they are in the same latitude in Canada.
The Greenland Iceflows appear to be melting and melting twice as fast as scientists thought, decreasing salinity in the North Atlantic could stop or even reverse the North Atlantic drift plunging Ireland into an Ice Age and giving us the same climate as Spitzberegen.
Whether or not you agree with the concept of Global warming the fact is the European Union does and we have signed up to this policy. We must reduce our emissions of carbon, or face significant fines.
So what are the Progressive Democrats proposing to meet these very serious challenges to our nations future?
We are proposing a Seven Point Action Plan designed to;
• Maximise the exploitation of indigenous energy resources
• Actively support renewable energy development
•Encourage energy efficiency and conservation
•Make future energy supplies more secure, by developing adequate stocks of imported fuels
•Minimise the overall cost of energy to the economy in the future, thus improving our competitive position
I do not propose to cover all of these points in detail, the document you have “Power the Future” does that but I do want to cover some of the highlights.
As I said earlier Ireland has some of the best wind and wave energy potential of any place on the planet. We propose that Ireland should aim to produce 30% of its electricity supplies from renewable sources by 2015.
In the short term that means the greater use of onshore wind energy, which given recent gas prices is now very much an economic proposition, in the longer term I believe that offshore wind can make a major contribution to our energy needs.
As we speak Irish engineers are working to develop technology which would allow us to anchor wind farms off the coast and out of sight of land to exploit the wind resources of the North Atlantic. When such technology becomes commercially available, Ireland could become an exporter of energy to Europe. This is where an additional inter-connector to the UK is so vital to realizing the opportunities we face.
In addition Ireland is recognized as having the best climate in Europe for cellulose production, as both grass and forestry yields per acre in Ireland are substantially above the European norm. Energy crops such as Miscanthus (elephant grass) or Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Willow could make a real contribution to farmers incomes, and our energy needs.
In the short term there is a real opportunity to increase the production of rape seed oil to produce bio-diesel which can add to diesel stocks without requiring modification to existing car engines. To create a market for bio-diesel we are proposing that oil distributors be mandated to add a percentage of bio-diesel to diesel. If the 35,000 ha of land traditionally used for sugar beet was switched to rape oil production it would yield approximately 62,500 tonnes of rape oil, which could replace 3% of our diesel requirements or 2% of total transport fuel requirements.
We are proposing to substitutvne biomass such as willow for peat in peat
burning power stations. This would both reduce CO2 emissions and increase the economic benefit of generation in those stations, to the local community. No increase in electricity prices will be required to achieve this. Given the yields obtained from these crops in Ireland biomass fired generation plant can both compete with peat fired generation and provide an attractive return to the producer, provided that establishment costs are grant aided.
In the longer term we believe that willow could form the basis of an Irish ethanol industry. There have recently been very significant advances in the science of converting cellulose to sugar and thence to ethanol. While the technology is still predominantly at laboratory bench scale, commercial production facilities are now under construction. The scale of what could be involved is indicated by the fact that all our current petrol needs could potentially be replaced by ethanol if 500,000-750,000 ha of existing pasture was devoted to producing Miscanthus or SRC willow.
There is a growing desire among citizens to make a contribution to protecting the environment and renewable energy is a means particularly suited to providing home heating. We propose to encourage that by offering Vat rebates and grants for renewable energy technology in the home and in the case of one off rural houses to make it easier for people who plan to use renewable technology to get planning permission.
Conservation of energy is critical and we believe that Government must lead the way by adopting best practices in the design insulation and energy management of all Government buildings.
In addition we are proposing the energy equivalent of the NCT for all buildings commercial buildings over 5,000sq meters to ensure that heating and cooling systems are operating effectively and at optimum levels.
Fossil fuel security is a critical issue. To ensure this we are proposing the rapid development of the Corrib Gas Field which has the potential to supply 50% of Ireland’s gas needs and 15% of Ireland’s total energy needs. The Progressive Democrats fully support the current efforts of the mediator to find a just and equitable solution to the current impasse. The only reason I highlight the issue here is to stress the importance of Corrib Gas to Ireland’s energy needs. In addition we propose that oil stocks held in Ireland be increased from approximately 45 days at present to the 90 days required under EU Directives and International Energy Agency (IEA) agreements and the development of additional gas storage.
In almost every area of industrial endeavor Ireland is a technology taker. Given the resources of wind and wave energy potential that we possess, the renewable energy industry is one area where we could in fact become technology leaders. We have the potential to do in renewable energy what we did in the ICT sector and become a world centre in the research development and exploitation of renewable energy technology. Internationally many firms now recognize the importance of research into renewable energy. We propose that the research and education functions of Sustainable Energy Ireland are split apart and that the focus on research includes more ambitious projects. Given the strategic importance of Research and Development in this area research funding should be increased significantly, and that IDA Ireland should be mandated to encourage multi-nationals to locate Renewable Energy Research and Development facilities in Ireland.
For both business and the public the cost of energy is the key issue, to promote competition and reduce costs we are proposing the establishment first of an all Ireland market for electricity and then a regional market between the UK and Ireland.
The Progressive Democrats are a small party specialising in big challenges in the 21st Century Energy is the big challenge. In a world of global warming we could have a flooded O’Connell street or we could chose a renewable future and become a centre e for renewable technology as we have for the IT industry. Thank you I will now take any questions you may have.