Climate pollution from Ireland’s electricity sector is now at its lowest level for decades, according to new figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
The data shows greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation fell by 17.2% in the first six months of this year, on top of a separate 8% reduction last year.
The biggest factor driving these reductions has been a sharp rise in the net importation of electricity from the UK, the emissions from which are not attributed to Ireland.
An increase in electricity from wind and solar farms at home also played a part.
SEAI Director of Research and Policy Insights Margie McCarthy welcomed what she said was a new “personal best” for Ireland in terms of energy-related emissions reductions.
However, she said it is only the start of the journey, and a significant acceleration of emission reductions is needed across all energy uses to avoid the huge costs associated with failure to meet our carbon budgets.
The figures show the UK supplied a total of 14.4% of all the electricity consumed in Ireland during the first half of this year. That is up 84% on the same period last year.
It means imports are now the third-largest source of electricity in Ireland, after electricity generated from wind and natural gas.
Electricity usage in Ireland grew by 4.4% last year.
The SEAI has said that new data centre connections accounted for 80% of that extra demand and data centres now consume one-fifth of all the electricity in Ireland.
It also noted continued progress in renewable electricity generation which went up by 10.2% in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year and accounted for almost half of utility scale electricity generation in Ireland.
Electricity from wind farms was up 5.9%, although it was still below what was seen in the same six-month period in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, solar farms are now accounting for 2.2% of utility-scale electricity generation in Ireland.
The breakdown of transport emissions in 2023 shows that, even with increased levels of fossil fuel blending with biodiesel and bioethanol, there was a slight increase in transport emissions.
Ireland’s road transport energy remains over 90% reliant on fossil fuels.
Provisional data for transport in the first six months of this year suggests a slight reduction with emissions down about 1.3% compared with the same period last year.
Residential use of coal, peat, oil, and natural gas for heating and hot water all dropped last year, and the amount of renewable energy used in Irish homes from heat pumps increased by over 30%, albeit from a low base.
Provisional 2024 data however suggests a return to growth in gas and oil for home heating, which could see the gains made in 2023 reversed.
Industrial and services sector gas use is also up in the first half of 2024.
The SEAI said a re-doubling of policies and actions supporting all sectors is essential to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels.
To achieve this, it said unprecedented rates of technology deployment will be needed and this will require unprecedented new policy and actions and unprecedented public support for these changes.
It said there is a need to build on any progress with stronger regulation, incentives, and widespread information campaigns to support all sectors and individuals, to finally show fossil fuels the door.
Article Source: Electricity sector climate pollution at lowest in decades, says SEAI
