In 2010 Ireland’s final consumption of electrical energy
amounted to almost 91 million gigajoules with an even greater demand
recorded for thermal energy for space and water heating [1].
To meet this combined energy demand fossil fuels are consumed:
in 2010 86% of the fossil fuels consumed were imported [2]. Recurring
international tension places a constant risk on the security of
supply of oil and natural gas into Ireland; this fact, combined with
the contribution of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to climate
change provides clear reasoning as to why Ireland needs to
act immediately to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuel as
a primary energy source.
Ireland has a number of indigenous renewable energy options
which could be implemented to increase the security of energy
supply. As an island nation, Ireland has access to wind, wave, tidal