Secure energy supply necessary for economic sustainability
As one of the key inputs to economic activity – security of energy supply – should be a key concern for policymakers. Interruptions in supply, even for short periods, can have very serious economic consequences and the impact of rising prices is a constant threat to standards of living and international competitiveness.
To enhance security of energy supplies, policymakers need to ensure three main elements are in place. First, physical infrastructure must be installed to allow delivery of energy to the end-user. Second, we must diversify the fuels we use so we’re not overly exposed should there be an interruption in the supply of one fuel. Third, we must reduce our reliance on imported fuels.
Achieving security of energy supply requires integrated infrastructure planning. Unfortunately this has been an area of weakness for Ireland. Compared with other EU countries, Ireland has a historical trend of low-density housing resulting in urban sprawl around major cities and large numbers of one-off housing in rural areas. In 2009, just 3 per cent of Ireland’s population lived in apartments, which is the lowest in the EU27, where the average is 42 per cent. This planning legacy has dramatic knock-on implications for energy usage in all sectors.
The most obvious implication is for the transport sector; when people live closer to their workplace, commuting distances are lower and a transport system can be optimised to meet the needs of the population more efficiently. In the electricity sector, our dispersed population has led to Ireland having four times the EU average length of power lines per customer. While unsightly and more costly to construct, longer lines also have the disadvantage that more energy is lost in transmission.
A history of poor spatial planning decisions also has consequences for the development of new power stations and renewable projects, with the selection of sites and the routing of power lines more challenging when houses are distributed widely outside towns and villages. In the heating sector,RUBBER SHEET, our distributed housing impacts on the availability of mainline gas, one of the most efficient fuels for domestic use, and also reduces the potential for district heating.
After infrastructure, the second pillar of energy security is energy diversity. Ireland’s dominant fuel source is oil, accounting for around 55 per cent of total energy use.
This demand is primarily driven by the transport sector, where 99 per cent of fuels are oil based. Natural gas is increasing in importance (currently meeting 27 per cent of energy demand), mainly driven by its usage in electricity generation and domestic heating.Reference Address: