40% of renewable energy available in the west

40% of renewable energy available in the west


Anton McNulty

THE Western Development Commission has compared the potential for developing renewable energy in the western region to having its own clean sustainable oil-fields, which will help solve the region’s inadequate transmission system.
Last week, EirGrid – the State company responsible for the grid infrastructure required to support the development of Ireland’s economy – launched their Grid 25 plan, through which they will invest over €1 billion in the western counties’ infrastructure in the period up to 2025.
According to the plan, 40 per cent of the country’s renewable wind energy capacity is available in the western region, and the WDC, which is charged with promoting development in the west, feels that this can be exploited for the benefit of the people and businesses in the area.
Gillian Buckley, CEO of the WDC, said they had been emphasising wind energy as one of the west’s major assets and welcomed Eirgrid’s Grid 25 plan, commenting that it will help drive balanced regional development.
“The western region has about 40 per cent of the entire country’s renewable capacity, making it a key natural resource for the region. It may be fair to say that wind and ocean energy are the western region’s own clean sustainable oil-fields.
“We have pointed out in a number of our research reports the inadequacy of the existing transmission system, both to serve existing needs and to deliver power generated from renewables. This new plan will fundamentally change this situation as it promises major investment to connect power from renewable energy, including ocean power, to the rest of the national grid. But we want to see as much of this clean, renewable ‘local power’ as possible used locally and we hope that its future availability will be highlighted by job creation agencies to attract new industries and jobs to the region, thereby helping achieve the Government aim of balanced regional growth,” she said.
Ms Buckley added that the WDC had worked closely with the Mayo Industries Group and IBEC to highlight their concerns about the reliability of the electricity supply in the area, and said this will be addressed with the county being earmarked for priority investment of a minimum 220KV transmission line. She said that, as well as facilitating the growth of renewable capacity, it will help sustain and promote industrial investment in Mayo.