Ireland nearly halfway towards 2020 renewables target

A new report named Renewable Energy in Ireland 2013, by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has highlighted that renewable energy contribution in 2013 contributed 7.8% of final energy demand which is halfway towards Ireland’s binding target of 16% under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

The current figure show Ireland is using 5 times more renewables than in 1990. This helps to avoid up to 3 million tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide emissions and dispensed with 300 million of fossil fuel imports annually.

Dr Brian Motherway, CEO of SEAI said: “Renewable energy is becoming increasingly valuable to Ireland. It is worth noting that vast majority of renewable energy comes from a combination of wind and bioenergy. Policy is directed towards making best use of our most available and cheapest resources, with no silver bullet. We need to make the right choices for Ireland by developing our energy system in the most cost effective manner to the benefit of our economy and society. The targets are demanding but achievable; to get there we will need focus, effort and investment.” Other key findings of the report include:

1. Ireland’s share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources increased fourfold since 1990. Renewables now contribute one fifth of electricity generated, the second largest share behind gas.

2. The vast majority of renewable energy came from wind (47%) and bioenergy (42%) with the rest from hydro, geothermal and solar.

3. Renewable electricity accounted for 58% of renewable energy, renewable heat 30% and renewable transport fuels 12%.