Sir, – I wish to congratulate Mark Paul on his excellent article “Ireland plays both sides by importing oil and gas from despots but refusing to drill it from our terrain” (Business, Opinion, August 5th).
There appears to be an acceptance of the fact that gas will have to be a transitional fuel which should be used wisely and well for the foreseeable future.
Consequently the decision to proceed with the construction of nine new gas-fired power stations with a generating efficiency of barely 60 per cent to produce electricity seems a poor way to utilise a rather scarce commodity.
Compare this with an over-90 per cent efficiency of the modern gas-fired condensing heating boiler to realise that scarce gas can be more usefully employed if used directly to heat our homes and businesses.
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While electricity is essential for specific purposes, it seems a pity that it will be employed to generate heat even via excellent heat-pump applications.
The delay in processing already sanctioned native exploration licences is simply inexplicable. – Yours, etc,
VINCENT DUFFY, FEI
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
A chara, – The Government is actively considering support for the construction of a liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal (“Report clarifying Government’s position on LNG terminals due in coming weeks”, News, August 6th).
You report that the proposed terminal would not be completed before 2027.
This is too late to help in the current energy crisis.
By 2027, we will have built the Celtic Interconnector link with France, allowing for the import or export of 700MW of electricity.
We will have built seven offshore windfarms, supplying 3GW of electricity to the grid.
The LNG terminal would be redundant before it is complete.
Looking further ahead, the Government has committed to the development of over 5GW of solar electricity, 5.7TWh of biomethane to replace gas imports, and a further 4GW of offshore wind generation, all by 2030.
Lest we forget, Ireland has also pledged to reach net-zero by 2050.
An LNG terminal only makes sense if we expect demand for imported gas to continue to rise.
Our whole energy strategy is based on reducing the demand for imported fossil fuels.
The terminal’s backers are trying to solve tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. – Is mise,
RAY CUNNINGHAM,
Walkinstown,
Dublin 12.