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Ireland to rely on Britain for nuclear power  IRELAND
will need to rely on Britain and Europe to supply energy — including
nuclear power.
Fine Gael energy spokesman Simon Coveney has revealed the country is in
no position to produce its own nuclear power.
Instead he said Ireland needed to be in a pivotal position to trade wind
energy over the interconnector into Britain.
“Countries should concentrate on what they do best and Ireland has
a competitive advantage in wind,” he said.
“We have better wind speeds and wave consistency than Britain with
the exception of Scotland.
“If we need to take energy from the grid then if it’s nuclear
I don’t have a huge problem with that.
“The Irish and British grids are going to become like one grid in
the future and that’s a good thing.”
A study published by energy minister Eamon Ryan showed that 42 per cent
of electricity needs could be generated by renewables by 2020 —
but this would require a major upgrade of the grid.
It would need €9billion in private investment and a further €650million
in State funds mainly through Eirgrid and ESB.
But Mr Coveney said he wanted to see roadmap setting out specific targets
and timeframes.
“We can sell a very precious commodity in wind energy into the
British market which will never have enough renewables,” he said.
“I don’t think the Irish economy is big enough or sufficiently
prepared for nuclear.
“I don’t think nuclear energy has a place in the energy mix
at the moment but we should listen to what people are saying about nuclear.”
Irish energy prices are currently 10 to 20 per cent higher than British
prices. |
