Statkraft welcomes Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2019

The plan, which was announced on the 17th June 2019, sets out ambitious goals for Ireland to ensure the delivery of real and effective climate action. This plan has the potential to position Ireland as a leader in Climate Action.

Kevin O’Donovan, Managing Director of Statkraft Ireland, said: 

“The Climate Action Plan 2019 constitutes the biggest statement of intent in terms of climate action that we have seen in this country to date and it places the development of renewable energy at its core. In making the decision to enter the Irish market, Statkraft recognised the significant potential that Ireland has in terms of its natural renewable energy resources. It is extremely encouraging now to see that government policy is supporting the harnessing of these resources in order to not only meet our climate action targets but to position Ireland as a leader on the Climate Action tables.

At Statkraft Ireland we believe that we have the potential to play a very significant role in helping our country to deliver on this Climate Action Plan. Once operational, the 130MW of permitted onshore wind energy projects within our portfolio will have the capacity to provide clean, green renewable energy to almost 100,000 Irish homes.  With a further 300MW of onshore wind energy projects either in, or about to enter the planning system, coupled with some very significant solar projects and a 500MW offshore project in the Irish Sea, we are on course to being in a position to provide renewable energy to approximately 700,000 Irish households in the coming years. This is not only important in terms of the scale of renewable energy production but also in terms of the diversity of generation.”

Peter Harte, Director at Statkraft Ireland and Chairman of the Irish Wind Energy Association, also welcomed the announcement of the plan saying:

“As an Island nation with the capacity to provide for our own energy requirements, Ireland can lead the way in terms of climate action. The results of the recent elections have clearly shown that Irish people are now demanding effective climate action. The Climate Action Plan 2019 has set the challenge for us all to deliver on. Work carried out to date has ensured that the Irish electricity grid system is operating successfully with renewable energy levels of up to 65% at any given time which proves that we are not that very far away from having a Grid system which can be run almost exclusively on renewable energy.

In order to reach our Climate Action Plan targets, the levels of renewable energy on the Irish grid will need to increase to approximately 90%. At Statkraft, we have recognised this need, and our team has been working over the past number of years to develop new grid service solutions that will allow our grid system to run almost entirely on renewables. In terms of addressing Climate Breakdown, transitioning to an electricity grid system based on non-polluting renewable energy is the most important action to take. Without this, many of the other steps detailed in the Climate Action Plan would be pointless. It is now imperative that Industry, the general public and government all work together to ensure that we deliver the goals that we have set.”

Kevin O’Donovan concluded by saying “Statkraft is already playing a major role in Climate Action and the transition to low carbon solutions. In addition to its hydro, wind and solar electricity generation, which places Statkraft as the largest renewable energy generator in Europe, we are also involved in other associated areas including the roll out of Electric Vehicle charging points, the provision of district heating and the development of Biofuels along with other alternative renewable energy sources. The Climate Action Plan 2019 details Ireland’s ambitions in many of these areas and over the coming years we will consider all suitable opportunities where we feel that we can play a meaningful role.”