Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

309 Chapter 12: Environment and Energy Environment and Energy 1. Introduction Our health, environment and climate are significantly affected by how we source, manage and use energy in Ireland to meet our growing demands for heating, mobility and electricity. Access to reliable energy supplies and energy-powered technologies has improved our quality of life and has been a key enabler of economic and social development in Ireland. A century has passed since legislation was introduced that drove the construction of Ireland’s first large-scale hydro power plant at Ardnacrusha, which in turn led to the development of our electricity grid system, enabling widespread access to electricity and the multiple benefits this brought. Population growth, economic growth and rising standards of living over the past 50 years have all contributed to increasing Ireland’s demands for heating, transport and electricity. We have primarily met these growing demands by using more coal and peat initially, then oil (petrol, diesel and kerosene), followed by natural gas and more recently wind power. As a consequence of meeting these growing demands primarily with oil, natural gas, coal and peat, our energy system is highly dependent on fossil fuels. Ireland has made some progress in transforming the electricity system through the deployment of wind farms, with renewable energy currently providing more than 40% of electricity used. However, electricity represents only one-fifth of Ireland’s energy use, and our transport and heating systems remain heavily reliant on fossil fuel systems, with lock-ins that need to be addressed. In addition to growing electricity from wind and solar sources, some progress has been made in Ireland’s heating and transport energy systems due to policy changes relating to new buildings through building regulations, upgrading existing buildings through retrofitting, biofuel blending in transport and increased sales of electric vehicles. Ireland’s energy supply and demand is currently undergoing accelerated changes driven by increased climate policy ambitions and by economic and geopolitical trends. The policy responses that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting increases in energy prices highlighted our dependency on imported fossil fuels and the need to improve our energy security. This further emphasised the urgency of accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels in Ireland and towards using cleaner and more renewable energy sources to support decarbonisation, protect against volatile energy prices and secure Ireland’s future energy supply. Demands for energy are also changing, and Ireland is experiencing strong growth in electricity demand, in particular through the development of the digital economy. Therefore the transition requires not only technological changes but also systemic changes across society and the economy – changes that challenge approaches to growth and consumption. This transformation of our energy systems also needs to enable a just transition for all members of society.