Thank you, Chairman.
I am delighted to be able to join the Taoiseach and Eirgrid here today in the launch of the Eirgrid Grid West project.
This major infrastructure project will contribute to ensure that Ireland’s energy system will be one that will enable the country to have a more secure and reliable supply.
Improving security of energy supply is a complex matter with solutions implemented over the long term, not overnight. It is a collective endeavour involving the energy sector, Government, the Regulator, enterprise, consumers and increasingly, communities themselves.
Everyone has a role in delivering the best energy solutions for this country which ensure security of supply, reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, de-carbonise the economy, minimise costs for all consumers and contribute to overall competitiveness.
There are, of course, difficult challenges to deal with to ensure infrastructure projects can build out in reasonable timeframes.
The Grid West project, along with the Grid Link project launched a couple of weeks ago in Cork, is a key electricity transmission development under EirGrid’s Grid25 strategy. In fact, I understand that Grid West is the largest Grid25 project in the West of Ireland.
In national terms, the ongoing roll out of the Grid 25 programme, together with delivery of the essential North South transmission reinforcements and the completion of the East West Interconnector, which is linking our electricity system with that of Great Britain, are vital for Ireland’s access to a secure and competitive energy supply. Given the scale of the necessary build out required, issues that could compromise the scale or pace of development necessary are clearly matters of concern for the Government.
While maintaining a viable and effective market, we need to ensure that new projects can develop into the future. To do this we need to see critical infrastructure built out.
The focus now must be firmly on delivery and, in particular, the delivery of our vital energy infrastructure projects to underpin our collective security of supply. This is in the long term best interests of every citizen of this country and this is one of the key messages that I would like to highlight here today.
Development of the high voltage electricity grid as planned in the GRID25 strategy is critical to our long term economic recovery. Some have argued that the severe step down in economic activity ought to result in pulling back investment in this area. It is true that the contraction of the economy has been dramatic but it is also true that infrastructure investments are long term investments by nature, are projects that can take as much as a decade to deliver but in turn deliver benefits to us for decades thereafter.
In fact, we have clear evidence that periods of falling demand can still be punctuated by record peak demands. We all experienced the exceptionally cold conditions of January and December 2010.
Despite demand for electricity falling overall since 2008 due to the economic downturn, demand for electricity during these spells of severe weather was at, or near, record levels for sustained periods. In fact a new record demand of 5,090 mega watts was set on 21 December 2010. The fact that all demand during these periods was satisfied, and that any loss of supply due to the severe conditions was rectified in short spaces of time, demonstrates the critical, national, importance of the investment that has been made in the electricity system in recent years, and the progress that has been made to address the situation created by the underinvestment of the 1980s.
But it is not enough just to address these issues on a national level. We are also part of the European energy market.
If we are to avail of opportunities presented by this market to increase our interconnection, improve the security of our electricity supply, export our excess renewable energy and deliver more competitive prices to consumers, we have to build the infrastructure now.
Indeed, the Grid West project is of critical strategic importance in this context. The abundance of renewable resources on our western seaboard holds the promise for us to actually achieve the huge challenge of moving away from fossil fuels in the longer term. Investment decisions for the necessary trans-European infrastructure up to 2030 must be taken now, as a significant amount of older generation plant will need to be replaced and more interconnected transmission systems need to be developed.
I think it is worth mentioning that the Grid West project, alongside the Grid Link project, is included in the second Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) for Europe’s transmissions systems, recently launched for consultation by the European Grid Operators organisation, ENTSO-E.
Its development is a requirement of the EU’s Third Energy Package, whereby ENTSO-E is required to adopt a non-binding, Community-wide, 10 year network development plan every two years. EirGrid is the Irish member of that organisation, as Ireland’s transmission system operator.
The purpose of the Plan is to assess the adequacy of the grid on a Europe wide scale, identify bottlenecks and, on this basis, highlight areas where investment is required.
The Plan identifies the need to invest over €100 billion in the refurbishment or construction of approximately 51,500 km of extra high voltage power circuits in Europe. Included are more than 100 projects of European significance, including a number of projects on this island.
These projects demonstrate how European grid operators plan the transmission infrastructure to support the fundamentals of EU energy policy – market integration, the integration of renewable energy sources and security of supply.
These are shared fundamentals across all Member States. 80% of the projects are related to the direct or indirect integration of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power.
I would like to reiterate what the Taoiseach has said on the subject of public participation in relation to Eirgrid transmission system projects here in Ireland. Today is the beginning of a comprehensive public consultation process in which I would urge members of the public and stakeholders to participate as early as possible to ensure better project implementation overall.
Energy infrastructure development is a long term task, involving the commitment and deployment of expert resources over many years. If the work is not planned and started in good time, and rolled out to meet these long term deadlines, the end result is slower project delivery and ultimately that future generations’ energy security is compromised.
We all need a reliable supply of electricity to live our lives in safety and comfort. It is not enough to generate electricity, it has to be transported. To know that light will come on whenever we flick the switch is the result of sustained, cost effective, investment in our electricity infrastructure. And now is when we need to look to the future and lay the foundations for delivering sustainable supplies of clean, renewable energy.
There is one final message I would like to leave you with. That is the fact that, in carrying out its remit on behalf of every Irish citizen, EirGrid works to the highest standards of safety and adheres to the highest international best practice. And not only do they do all this, but they combine these priorities with achieving the most cost effective solution for the Irish energy consumer. Acting in the public interest is the fundamental, guiding, principle behind EirGrid’s work, and behind the Grid West project.