The following articles appeared in the Longford Leader from October 2007 as part of "How We Live Our Lives" series.

-Security of our Energy Supply-

By Ray Hogan

Security of Supply - this is matter for governments you might say, but is it? What does this mean to the general public?

Ireland in the past decade or more has become overly dependent on fuel imports and it's now the most vulnerable country in the EU to price increases and ultimately the security of our energy needs.

Since the early 1990's our Energy Import Dependency has been rising steadily from around 65% in the mid 1990's to 90% in 2005 due to a combination of increasing energy usage, decline in both Kinsale natural gas production and peat production from around 4,000 Mtoe (Million ton of oil equivalent) to 1,500 Mtoe. These declines, coupled with our ever increasing energy usages have been directly replaced by both oil and gas imports.

Import Dependency

SEI Report (Nov 2006) "Energy in Ireland 1990 - 2005"

In December 2005 we saw what happened when Russia cut off its gas supplies to the Ukraine and this was against a background of only supplying 30% of the Ukraine needs. This action was felt right across Europe, while we in this country just noticed a slight blip in energy prices as we were buffered by supplies from the UK's North Seas resources, however these are now in serious decline as UK output is currently running at less than 75% of a decade ago and its projected depletion is within a decade and half or so.

Energy Balance

The following diagram sets out our Energy Balance for 2005 as a flow diagram showing our inputs from the left hand side and our outputs or usages on the right hand side.

Energy Flow

SEI Report (Nov 2006) "Energy in Ireland 1990 - 2005"

Of our total energy inputs of 15,613 ktoe (kilo ton of oil equivalent = 15.6 Mtoe) , oil dominates at 57% followed by natural gas 22%, coal 12%, and peat 5% and the remaining 4% accounting for by renewable and imported electricity. While on the other side, transport accounts for almost 33%, residential 18%, industry 16%, services 11%, agriculture 2%. It is worth noting that almost 20% of our total energy is lost in electricity transformation, this loss amounts to greater that the total residential requirement or put another way, is equivalent to all our Natural Gas imports

We use this energy to plough our land, harvest our food, drive our industry, transport our goods, move ourselves around, heat our homes and generate electricity but in all cases, when we convert this primary energy to heat and then its lost. This is what we now call the fossil fuel era and while the past has been clearly mapped, the future will place before us many different challenges.

In the UK Energy Review (July, 2006) the then Prime Minister Tony Blair stated " But we now face two immense challenges as a country - energy security and climate change. First, we will soon be net importers of oil, and dependent on imported gas at a time when global demand and prices are increasing. Energy consumption by China and India , for example, is projected to double by 2030. At the same time, many of our coal and nuclear power stations are coming to the end of their lives. Without action to ensure reliable supplies and replace power plants, there will be a dramatic shortfall in our energy capacity and risks to our energy security ."

Clearly, Mr. Blair was concerned that as the UK is just about to become an energy import dependent nation. In Ireland for too long, we are permanently (in a comfort zone) at the wrong end of the energy import dependency scale and incredibly we have officially accepted this state, as can be seen for the following government reports on this subject.

In 2006 Forfás (Irelands National Economic Development Authority & Advisory Board) released a study on oil dependency ( "A Baseline Assessment of Ireland 's Oil Dependence" ) issues for Ireland . The overall objective of the study was to assess Ireland 's reliance on a single volatile resource as a key input into the Irish economy. The report states that in tackling what is possibly an unprecedented risk management problem, the challenge from the outset is three-fold; to ensure that a common level of understanding exists around the area of peak oil and to recognise that at some point, mitigation strategies must be considered. Secondly to assess what implications peak oil potentially holds for the Irish economy and finally to identify the correct approaches which could be adopted in a timely and effective manner. Also in 2006 the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources published a (" Review of Energy") and the first line in the introduction of the report states; " Ireland has a very high dependence on imported fossil based fuels. This places Ireland in a potentially invidious position. There is no cast iron guarantee on supply and the economy is open to price volatility. " And the report later goes on to state; " The Joint Committee has examined how to avoid supply shortage; these include the broadening of the existing fossil fuel portfolio and substituting imports with indigenous energy sources. The Joint Committee has concerns about the strategic issues of fuel reserves and the control of both the electricity and gas networks. Natural gas supply was identified as being potentially vulnerable which has major consequences for Ireland as gas constitutes a significant part of the overall energy supply"

Ray Hogan is a founder member of both Longford Environmental Alliance ( www.l-e-a.org ) and Rathcline Sustainable Projects Group ( www.rspg.ie ) and a registered Building Energy Rating Assessor

LEA

Longford Environmental Alliance

-Security of our Energy Supply-

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