| Natural gas from shale rock promises energy revolution |
| A new source of energy, shale gas promises to add significantly to the world's energy reserves but there are concerns about the environmental impact of extraction. BP's former chief executive Tony Hayward has described it as a "game changer" in energy supply, the major oil companies are betting millions on its success and it might just turn Blackpool into the new Dallas. Shale gas seems to answer the oil industry's desire for an accessible energy source perfectly just as other sources are becoming more problematic. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 10/09/2010 ( Reads : 0 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Lights out for the clear-glass bulb of 75 watts or more |
| THE LIGHTS will be going out all over Ireland next week - but for once it's not because of our economic woes. The phasing out of incandescent lightbulbs gathers pace from next month with a ban on clear-glass bulbs of 75 watts or over. Manufacturers will also have to provide additional information on the energy use of the bulbs they sell, under the new rules to be introduced by the European Commission from September 1st. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 26/08/2010 ( Reads : 46 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| ESB told to solve ash-storage problem |
| THE ESB has been given a week to draft a schedule of measures aimed at rectifying problems with ash-storage arrangements at its power station at Moneypoint, in Co Clare. The move follows complaints from local residents to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) about an incident on July 4th last when ash from a storage pit was blown on to local properties. An investigation of that incident confirmed elevated dust emissions in breach of the ESB's Pollution Control Licence. During a site visit last month, the EPA found the station to be non-compliant in a number of areas. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 19/08/2010 ( Reads : 64 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Bio-energy plant lost for 'lack of incentive' |
| THE IRISH backers of a £100 million (€120 million) Welsh biomass plant have said the absence of a commercial incentive for renewable energy in Ireland has led to the project, which will create up to 300 jobs, being located in Wales instead of Ireland. Yesterday, Cork-based company EcoPellets and British company Integrated Energy Systems International (IESI) announced plans to build a 31MW biomass plant on the Isle of Anglesey, subject to planning permission. Up to 200 jobs will be created during the construction of the plant, which is expected to begin operations in May 2013. The business will employ up to 120 people. Irishman John O'Shea, the managing director of IESI, said the absence of an incentive system meant that it was not commercially viable to invest in Ireland.
(c) Irish Examiner 5.08.10
SUZANNE LYNCH // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 07/08/2010 ( Reads : 45 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Corrib gas protestor arrested |
| The retired Co Mayo schoolteacher, who went on hunger strike last year, was stopped by gardaí after attending a funeral in her home village yesterday afternoon. She was brought initially to her local garda station before being sent to Mountjoy Women's Prison in Dublin, where supporters were planning a protest to mark her arrival last night. Ms Harrington, 57, was imprisoned for periods of four months, one month and two weeks last year for assaulting a garda, public order offences and failure to comply with an order to pay a €1,000 fine and a €1,000 donation to the Garda Benevolent Fund. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 26/06/2010 ( Reads : 102 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Over 50 new windfarms to be built in Donegal |
| Donegal's rural landscape will be transformed by the construction of more than 50 windfarms over the coming years, new figures reveal. The current number of 117 windfarms across the Republic will rapidly increase over the coming decade to 361 as the Irish government races to meet EU targets which oblige it to produce 40% of all electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 11/06/2010 ( Reads : 129 ) | Comments (2) | Energy |
| Shell will cut gas risk with 4.9km tunnel |
| ENERGY giant Shell E&P plans to build the longest tunnel in the country to bring gas from the Corrib gas field ashore. The company yesterday sought planning permission from An Bord Pleanala to build a 4.9km tunnel underneath Sruwaddacon Bay in Co Mayo. The proposed tunnel will take at least a year to build, further delaying the project. The move comes after the planning appeals board last year ordered the company to redesign the pipeline and move it away from homes because it posed an "unacceptable risk" to the public. It is the third time the pipeline's route has been changed. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 03/06/2010 ( Reads : 105 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Kerry could ride crest of wave energy project |
THE seas off Kerry have been suggested as a potential location for a multi-billion Euro wave energy project. US Alternative energy company Rockhouse Mountain Energy (RME) in conjunction with the Irish Government and the US Embassy in Dublin have unveiled plans to construct a massive 500MW wave farm in waters off the west coast of Ireland. The project which would see around 1,000 wave power generating buoys deployed off the coast in either one large wave farm or a series of smaller farms, probably measuring about five by one miles. RME have signed a deal with Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) to supply 500KW PowerBuoys. These oceangoing buoys capture and convert predictable wave energy into low-cost, clean electricity, which is then sent to shore via undersea cables. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 16/05/2010 ( Reads : 170 ) | Comments (1) | Energy |
| Britain has key vote on World Bank loan to Medupi power station |
| Britain is likely to cast the deciding vote on whether the World Bank lends South Africa $3.7bn (£2.4bn) to build one of the largest coal-fired power stations in the world. The state-owned Medupi station would be three times the size of Britain's biggest, at Drax in Yorkshire, but would emit 25m tonnes of CO2 a year – more than 115 other countries including Kenya, Luxembourg, Burma and Croatia. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 02/04/2010 ( Reads : 203 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Plans lodged for £250m gas store |
| Initial plans have been lodged for a massive undersea gas storage facility off the coast of Northern Ireland. Islandmagee Storage Ltd submitted plans for the Ballylumford site on Tuesday, which is designed to store 500 million cubic metres of natural gas. The gas is to be stored in seven caverns 1,500 metres below sea level in 200 metre thick layers of ancient salt. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 23/03/2010 ( Reads : 266 ) | Comments (1) | Energy |
| Tesco's massive turbines to eclipse tallest building |
Retail giant Tesco is to be granted planning permission to construct two massive 300-feet high wind turbines at its distribution centre in north Dublin that, when completed, will be taller than the Republic's tallest building, The Elysian in Cork. Fingal Co Council has just given the provisional go-ahead for the two wind turbines that will each have a 213-feet tall support base and 85-feet wide blades that will bring the total height of the structures to 91 metres. That's slightly under 300 feet and makes them about 30 feet higher than the Elysian, and nearly half the height of the landmark Poolbeg power station chimneys in Dublin.// Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 18/03/2010 ( Reads : 232 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| 'Milestone' for wave energy plans |
| Ten sites on the seabed off the north coast of Scotland have been leased out to power companies in an effort to generate wave and tidal energy. In the first project of its kind in the world, areas in the Pentland Firth and around Orkney have been leased to seven companies by the Crown Estate. The companies are to push forward plans to generate enough electricity to supply 750,000 homes by 2020. Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said it was a "major milestone". He said the waters had been described as the "Saudi Arabia of marine power" due to their "rich natural resources". // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 17/03/2010 ( Reads : 215 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| ESB one of worst offenders for energy inefficiency |
| SOME of the worst offenders for energy inefficiency include government offices, HSE facilities and the ESB. Not one public building assessed by energy efficiency experts has achieved the top grade in a ratings scheme designed to show wastage in electricity, gas and oil use and the extent of associated carbon emissions. One of the biggest offenders is the ESB itself, which has eight buildings that all received the lowest possible ‘G' rating and two others that scored unimpressive F and E2 grades. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 15/03/2010 ( Reads : 229 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| State's chief scientist backs eco plan to flood valleys |
| Spirit of Ireland, the group behind a plan to flood valleys along the western seaboard in an attempt to make the country energy-independent, has received the backing of the state's chief scientific adviser, despite concerns from some environmentalists. Patrick Cunningham, a state appointee, has written to Brian Cowen, the taoiseach, tanaiste Mary Coughlan, and Eamon Ryan, the energy minister, describing the wind and hydro-energy project as worthy of their "urgent attention". Writing in April 2009, Cunningham said the proposal could achieve "a transformation in our economic future". // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 07/03/2010 ( Reads : 461 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| 130 objections lodged against Shell licence application |
| THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment has received more than 130 submissions in response to a foreshore licence application by Shell EP Ireland for investigative work in north Mayo's Sruwaddacon estuary. The company aims to drill up to 80 boreholes in the estuary, which is a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as part of site investigation work for the Corrib gas onshore pipeline route. The work, costing between €5 million and €10 million according to the company, will take place over a five- to seven-month period in the narrow intertidal estuary running between the communities of Rossport, Glengad and Pollathomas. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 02/03/2010 ( Reads : 281 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Electricity prices to rise for households, drop for industry |
| THE government has confirmed it is likely to increase household electricity prices this October so it can reduce bills for large industrial customers after months of speculation within the energy industry. The move comes despite evidence that an increasing number of consumers are struggling to pay their bills. Energy minister Eamon Ryan plans to increase the prices using network charges, which mean that all consumers will be hit, regardless of their supplier. A similar measure is also understood to be being considered for gas customers. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 07/02/2010 ( Reads : 303 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Plans for green energy cashback |
| Plans to reward eco-friendly householders for the green energy that their solar panels produce have received a muted welcome. The clean energy cashback plan, known as "feed-in tariffs", offers incentives from April for those who install small scale renewables on their homes. The government claims one in 10 homeowners could fit panels or small wind turbines by 2020. But the scheme has been criticised as not generous enough. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 04/02/2010 ( Reads : 299 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Farmers demand Lough Erne water level is reduced |
| Farmers hit by devastating floods have called for the Government to take action to reduce high water levels in Lough Erne. Around 300 farmers were affected by severe flooding across Co Fermanagh in the run-up to Christmas and the Ulster Farmers Union says they were extremely fortunate as the situation could have been even worse. Following the first meeting of the NI Executive’s Flooding Taskforce, it emerged that one farmer was unable to move his milk for three weeks and was forced to tip it down the drain. Another lost a trailer-load of feed, and many were left marooned away from their work. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 13/01/2010 ( Reads : 331 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| Ireland's demand for energy up in 2008 |
| OVERALL ENERGY demand in Ireland rose by 1.5 per cent in 2008 despite the economy contracting by 3 per cent last year, according to a report from Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). The report, Energy in Ireland 1990-2008, blames higher demand on cold weather. This led to an 8.8 per cent increase in energy use by householders and a 6.9 per cent increase in the commercial and public services sector. When climate factors are taken into consideration, the increase drops to 3.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively. SEI chief executive Prof Owen Lewis said the report showed the need to improve the energy performance of buildings. He commended the Government for continuing "in these straitened times" to fund the home energies saving scheme which allows homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. "The logic of replacing money which we are sending off to oil and gas suppliers with jobs in Ireland to improve our buildings to reducing energy is very compelling." // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Tony Lowes on 15/12/2009 ( Reads : 384 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
| UK 'could halve emissions in a decade' |
| The UK could halve the carbon emissions from homes and buildings by the end of the next decade - and create thousands of "green" jobs in the process, the UK Green Building Council said today. The industry body said buildings were responsible for 44% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions - but it was possible to cost-effectively cut those emissions by 50% by 2020. According to the UKGBC, the technology and know-how is available but obstacles to greening British properties have included the hassle of getting work done, upfront costs, different priorities of landlords and tenants and a lack of information on the value of sustainable buildings. // Read More // | |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 25/11/2009 ( Reads : 413 ) | Comments (0) | Energy |
