How Ireland Can Assert Energy Independence From the UK and Meet its Bold Emissions Targets

Importing some 90 per cent of its power, although Ireland has set bold renewables and CO2 targets, for the time being it relies heavily on buying electricity from the precarious UK National Grid. With dependency on fossil fuels down from 98 per cent in 1998 to 90 per cent in 2013, with some, albeit slow headway into renewables, Ireland’s journey towards a 95 per cent reduction in emissions levels by 2050 poses a real challenge to this forward thinking country.

Although renewables including wind power and solar are gradually increasing in popularity, Ireland’s ongoing dependence on UK energy supplies should ring alarm bells to organisations reliant on continuous power supplies. Tied to the UK through a number of agreements, the UK’s precarious National Grid should pose a concern both sides of the Irish Sea. The National Grid has experienced its lowest reserve energy levels in recent years and we’ve reported on numerous research and journalistic sources that stress how the National Grid will not be showing any signs of recovery well into 2020. As the UK fails to bring newer, greener energy supplies online in a timely fashion, it continues to decommission its older, coal-powered power stations at a steady pace.

With ample supplies of natural gas, being a cheaper, greener option for many Irish organisations, Combined Heat and Power is one of the most viable solutions to both securing reliable energy supplies, whilst pursuing the country’s ambitious emissions targets. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) converts the heat from electricity production into hot water and heating, bringing many types of organisations and housing districts where hot water is in high demand, copious supplies of cheaper, greener energy.

shentongroup is the sole UK and Irish supplier of the Tedom range of Combined Heat and Power systems. Starting with the Micro range of small, yet capable CHP systems, beginning with the T7 delivering 7kWe electrical output and 19.8kWe (increased) heat output, the Tedom Centro range provides electrical outputs from 70kWe to 331kWe and heat outputs from 79kWe through to 415kWe (increased). The new Tedom Quanto CHP systems are the heavy weights of the Tedom range, extending to the Quanto M10000 which boasts 10426kWe electrical output and the greatest heat output of the entire Tedom range.

shentongroup provides a number of free resources to help you better understand CHP, including white papers, case studies and data sheets. However, to discuss your organisation’s low emission and high performance power, click here to speak to a shentongroup Combined Heat and Power expert.