Wind power could help the Republic to meet its greenhouse- gas emission targets, and research is underway at UCC to achieve this goal, writes Emma Napper
You only have to stand on the coast of Clare in April to know how much wind there is in Ireland. The wind is an ideal source of renewable energy and will become increasingly important for providing power for our businesses and homes.
By converting to wind energy, we will be able to cut the amount of carbon dioxide gas released into the atmosphere, which is currently estimated to be around 45 million tonnes a year. Generating our own electricity using renewable sources will also help to release the Republic from its dependence on imported oil. Its supply and price remain beyond our direct control, barring the discovery of fresh offshore reserves.
Converting the Republic to renewable energy is the joint target of scientists, the Government and groups such as Sustainable Energy Ireland, which co-ordinated Energy Awareness Week late last month. The group is currently assessing the impact that wind energy could have in in this country and also the best input from companies.
The world's largest wind farm is due to be built here by Airtricity seven kilometres off the coast of Co Wicklow, on the Arklow Bank. It will cost about €630 million and supply enough power for 500,000 homes by 2007. Generating capacity is expected to reach 520 million watts.
"The short-term target is to increase the amount of energy from wind power to seven per cent in 2005," says Brian Ó Gallachoir, a senior researcher at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in University College Cork.
Ó Gallachoir, who has been involved in the Renewable Energy Strategy Group, is studying how increasing wind energy availability might affect the existing electricity system in the Republic.
His group believes that using wind power instead of fossil fuels such as oil could significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that damage the environment. This will help the Republic meet the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern's commitments on carbon dioxide reduction, reiterated at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg last month.
At the moment, 1.5 per cent of our energy comes from the wind, which is mostly used by businesses. This percentage must increase, given the international agreement on greenhouse-gas output reduction. The goal is to ensure that emissions of carbon dioxide in 2010 are only 13 per cent higher that they were in 1990. Current emissions, however, are already 27 per cent higher than 1990 and getting them down will be a "huge challenge", says Ó Gallachoir.
The power of the wind is converted straight into pollution-free electricity but there will need to be changes to the electricity network so that the Republic can accommodate wind-generated electricity. "When the wind isn't blowing but we need electricity, what do we do?" asks Ó Gallachoir.
This is the focus of his research: assessing how the intermittent availability of wind-generated electricity can be switched into the national grid without disturbing power supplies to the consumer.
In other countries which rely on wind power, ways to get around problems have evolved. For example, if there is a windless day in Denmark, where 15 per cent of energy is wind generated, they simply borrow electricity from neighbouring countries.
"In Ireland, we are not yet clear on how large-scale wind generated electricity will impact on electricity networks and this makes if difficult for the Government to set medium-term and long-term targets," says Ó Gallachoir.
Ensuring that there is always plenty of electricity available means that excess energy produced on a particularly windy day will need to be stored for later. "Night-time demand is low but there may be high wind energy," he explains.
As well as working on storage devices for spare electricity, his group is simulating changes to the electricity network that would arise by increasing the amount of wind energy. Modelling the network and altering the sources of supply should allow them to predict any potential problems.
There also needs to be a better way to forecast when there will be surges in electricity, he says. Once these various problems are resolved, Ó Gallachoir believes wind energy targets will "grow and grow".
Emma Napper is a research scientist participating in the British Association for the Advancement of Science's Media Fellow Programme