Energy interconnector adds to Ireland’s wind energy potential
Thursday 27 October 2011
- Wind energy could be a major addition to Ireland’s export offering, especially to the UK market
Coillte, Ireland’s leading company operating in forestry, land based businesses, renewable energy and panel products, has today welcomed the commencement of the laying of underwater electrical cabling to connect the Irish and UK energy markets.
Coillte has said that wind energy development offers the potential for up to €10 billion new investment in the Irish economy over the coming decade and could be a major addition to Ireland’s export offering, which underlines the importance of a direct connection to the UK market.
David Gunning, CEO of Coillte, commented:
“The potential of wind energy development in Ireland is significant. Whilst Ireland needs an alternative to imported fossil fuel based energy to satisfy domestic renewable energy obligations, and help tackle climate change, the potential also exists for Ireland to develop energy export capacity by capitalising on the high wind yield that exists in many parts of the country which should also lead to cheaper electricity prices for consumers in Ireland.
“For example, the energy needs of our nearest export market are significant and will increase as outdated technologies – such as coal power generation – reach the end of their life. This highlights the importance of linking the UK and Ireland electricity power grids to allow for the future export of wind energy from Ireland.”
Mr Gunning has also said that Ireland now needs to do more to meet the targets that have been set for wind energy generation:
“Ireland has targets for a considerable expansion in the delivery of energy from wind, and to meet these targets approximately 3,000 megawatts (MW) of additional wind energy capacity will need to be built and brought online by 2020. However, the amount of additional wind energy generating capacity that is being delivered annually is not sufficient to meet this target.
“In 2010 the additional MW capacity developed nationally was 115 MW with a projected 200 MW to be delivered by the end of this year. At this rate, Ireland will be significantly shy of the targets set by the end of the decade.
“Meeting the existing 2020 targets will involve a total investment of €4.5 billion in wind energy. However, taking exports of electricity into the equation, conservative estimates show an investment potential of €10 billion, based on the industry standard price per MW, over the coming 10 years.
“Coillte is well placed to play a very significant role in the development of wind energy in Ireland. We have a development pipeline in excess of 1200MW of windfarm projects and in addition 20% of the current wind capacity is on land previously owned by Coillte. We have developed significant expertise in working to develop wind energy projects both in our own right and with other companies.”
Coillte manages approximately 7% of the land in the State, and is mandated to derive maximum commercial benefit from this resource. Forestry products are a major part of our business with approx 70% of products delivered from the forest resource being exported. However, the expansion of wind energy in Ireland is a growing component of Coillte’s commercial business.
Ends/
For more information contact:
Tom Byrne
Head of Corporate Communications
Coillte
Tel: (353 1) 201 5231 / 086 810 4224
Damien Garvey
Q4 Public Relations
Tel: 01 4751444 / Mob: 086 8314435
Notes to editor:
Coillte is Ireland’s largest landowner and is involved in forestry, land management and renewable energy, as well as the manufacture and export of timber panel products. The company employs approx 1,000 people in Ireland, the UK and Europe. Coillte is celebrating 10 years of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification in its forestry business this year.
For more see www.coillte.ie
Ireland’s wind energy opportunity:
The IWEA/Deloitte report from 2009 identified that construction and development of wind energy projects across Ireland, North and South will involve approximately €14.75billion of investment. €5.1 billion of this could be retained in the Irish economy.
