British Government to subsidise Irish Wind Energy Industry

Trade

20 June 2011

Ireland’s West Coast is known for its rugged scenery and breathtaking natural landscape, but that could soon change. The west of Ireland could be the site of a new wave of wind farm construction if the British government presses ahead with proposals to support installations in Ireland.

Britain believes that the coast could be utilised to generated vast amounts of wind energy and is in negotiations with representatives from the Irish government about subsidising the building of wind farms in the region.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte and UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be gathering today for talks at a meeting of the British Irish Council. The council will be discussing proposals for a new series of wind farms and inter-connectors to link the electricity grids of Ireland and Britain in order to help generate power for Ireland and the UK.

Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) which is meeting with the British Irish Council has announced that Ireland’s immersion into wind energy exporting could create thousands of jobs and support an ailing Irish economy.

The project could see Ireland reaching its 2020 renewable targets of 4,500 MW from renewable sources while exporting a further 5,000 MW in wind power to Britain. Domestic industry groups in Ireland have argued that the project could be worth an estimated €1.6 billion to the Irish economy,

British Energy Minister Charles Hendry is in favour of the proposals, he has commented to the media that, “the west coast of Ireland has some of the fiercest winds in Europe, “they whip in off the Atlantic which means it is an ideal location for windfarms.”

Hendry added that “the Irish market for electricity is less than a tenth of that of Britain. That means that companies cannot afford to build windfarms in Ireland because there is no market for their power. We want to put that right.”

Dr Michael Walsh chief executive of IWEA has welcomed the news stating that, “the UK government has clearly recognised that we have one of the best wind resources in the world and that we have the potential to support their renewable energy requirements through interconnections between here and the UK.”

Dr Walsh argues that Britain would benefit considerably from such renewable energy imports, and would aid the government in reaching its target of 15% of all energy from renewable means by 2020.

While there has been little opposition in Ireland to date there has been strong opposition to such proposals in Britain in the past. Opponents have argued that wind turbines rarely work to capacity, spoil natural landscapes and can have a devastating effect on local bird populations.

Recently there has been protest by Welsh farmers to limit the number of wind farms in the region, claiming that the wind turbines have negative effects on the local communities and environment.

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