Wednesday 11 July 2012

Ireland needs more renewables to meet 2020 target

Ireland needs to invest a lot more in renewable technologies to be able to meet its 40% target by 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned.

In a review of Irish energy policies published today, the IEA suggested the country needs to improve energy efficiency and develop a range of gas and electricity infrastructure projects.

The report also said two-thirds of Ireland's electricity which comes from gas-fired generation is of concern to its energy security as 93% of its gas supplies come from a single transit point in Scotland.

Maria van der Hoeven, the Executive Director of the agency said although Ireland's high energy targets are "courageous", it has a lot of work to do.

She said: “At a time when many governments are shying away from their commitments to clean energy, Ireland has courageously resisted the temptation to scale back its own.

"A lot has been achieved, yet there is more to do. Now is not the time for complacency."

Ireland also aims to get 20% energy savings by 2020 and reduce energy consumption in the public sector by 33% in 2020.