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26th May 2011
UCC's response to the Economic and Social Research Institute report on energy, May 2011.
The recently published Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report (May 2011) on renewable energy policy in Ireland advocates an approach to the development of renewables that fails to take such a holistic view, and potentially undermines the infrastructure investments currently underway. For example, UCC is developing the largest marine energy research group in the world, including the national ocean energy test tank facilities. This will support technology developers and industry, including SMEs to develop the ocean energy sector that can create up to 52,000 jobs by 2030. Europe is moving towards a unified market for electricity, including the development of the requisite grid infrastructure, which opens the opportunity of exporting green electricity to Europe. The ESRI paper fails to take this export and job creation potential into consideration.
The ESRI author suggests that current incentives for offshore energy, (REFIT tariffs) should be abandoned, on the basis inter-alia that there is no guarantee that the technological break-throughs will occur on time. Rather than focusing on discouraging subsidies, we believe in UCC that the government should focus on doing all it can to encourage investment into this sector at this point in time. Ireland has phenomenal natural resources for the generation of offshore wind, wave and tidal power. We also have some of the most advanced technology developments in the world, supported by an internationally renowned academic track record in University College Cork. Ireland cannot afford to see the investment into research and development wasted, and it certainly cannot afford to miss the opportunity for such a powerful indigenous economic opportunity for the country.