Getting Ireland’s Energy Policy Right

Mr Gladstone, when accused of changing his mind responded ‘When the facts change I change my mind; what do you do sir?’

The facts, economic, geopolitical, environmental and technological have been changing rapidly in the energy arena and shifting in favour of nuclear.  Mature governments worldwide are emulating Mr Gladstone.

For good reason: countries with substantial nuclear power programmes are seen to be holding down their energy costs and gaining competitive advantage.

France with its 59 nuclear power plants provides a vivid example.  Electricity prices there are amongst the lowest in Europe. In contrast costs … Continue reading...

‘Opposition to nuclear energy is based on irrational fear fed by Hollywood-style fiction, the Green lobbies and the media. These fears are unjustified, and nuclear energy from its start in 1952 has proved to be the safest of all energy sources. We must stop fretting over the minute statistical risks of cancer from chemicals or radiation. Nearly one third of us will die of cancer anyway, mainly because we breathe air laden with that all pervasive carcinogen, oxygen’…..’By all … Continue reading...

Energy White Paper

Minister Noel Dempsey and his team can take credit for a number of desirable initiatives announced in the Energy White Paper and for having the courage to shake things up…just a little.

Welcome plans for reform of Ireland’s electricity market should reduce the ESB’s dominance. The creation of an all-island energy market and stronger links to the UK should offer cost savings and a more secure supply.

The need for radical action is compelling. Ireland has now the highest industrial electricity costs in the EU, after Italy, and the quality of Ireland’s energy infrastructure is near the … Continue reading...

Dr. Edward Walsh, founding president of the University of Limerick and former director of an energy research laboratory in the US, looks at Ireland’s energy position

Russia’s decision last Christmas to teach the Ukraine a lesson, by attempting to cut off its gas supply and bring the country to its knees, highlights Ireland’s vulnerability. Ninety percent of Ireland’s energy requirements are imported and gas, upon which we are increasingly dependent, flows from a single source in Scotland. In an emergency Ireland has only a two-day supply. Being at the western extremity of Europe’s gas grid is an unenviable location.

Unlike … Continue reading...

Irish Energy Policy: Reason v Emotion

‘Opposition to nuclear energy is based on irrational fear fed by Hollywood-style fiction, the Green lobbies and the media. These fears are unjustified, and nuclear energy from its start in 1952 has proved to be the safest of all energy sources. We must stop fretting over the minute statistical risks of cancer from chemicals or radiation. Nearly one third of us will die of cancer anyway, mainly because we breathe air laden with that all pervasive carcinogen, oxygen’…..’By all means, let us use the small input from renewables sensibly, but only one immediately available … Continue reading...