Opinion: Ireland's Climate Goals and Democratic Functions

Wind energy faces a battle, not just from Atlantic weather but also from increasing concerns from communities across the country.

Since our group formed two months ago we have been engaging with public representatives to bring focus on what we believe are critical issues for both our own communities as well as our national climate objectives.

The vast majority of our group's members support the idea of increasing Ireland's energy independence and to move away from continued reliance on fossil fuels. Both onshore and offshore wind energy has a part to play in that strategy. The removal of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas from our energy supply chain improves our independence and also cuts our carbon emissions.

Ireland's CO2 emissions intensity from electricity generation has been decreasing steadily, from around 640 grammes of CO2 per kilo watt hour in 2006 to about 230 grammes in 2024. At the same time, our electricity supply chain has seen the fuel input mix change where renewables accounted for almost 1250 kilo tonnes of equivalent oil (ktoe) in 2024.

Carbon intensity of Ireland's electricity. (SEAI)

But we face a dilemma. Onshore wind can be very unpredictable compared to other energy sources. This is why more gas-power generation plants have been constructed over the last twenty years. These have the advantage of being able to start very quickly when the wind energy can't meet demand plus they are easier to maintain compared to the older oil and coal burning generating stations. The big disadvantage is that gas is usually the most expensive of all the fossil fuels. The delays faced in constructing more off-shore wind projects has not helped matters. In 2024, gas accounted for over 1300 ktoe for our electricity needs, surpassing the renewables inputs.

Ireland's electricity generation by different fuel and renewable types. (SEAI)

Ireland's plan seems to be based on setting ambitious targets to install on-shore wind projects as quickly as possible. Companies are being highly incentivised to capture financial benefits regardless of what is in the county's best interest. This is happening at the expense of smaller communities who are being ignored because of the prevailing geopolitical climate. The lack of urgency to update the current guidelines for wind turbines or to carry out effective assessments of potential longer term health impacts directly point to where government focus lies.

Our group calls on leaders from government, academia and commercial bodies to listen to the concerns of the citizens. Our democracy depends on consensus; in its absence, we threaten and undermine our national climate objectives. We've seen what can happen in other democracies when people lose faith in the process. We cannot afford the same here.