Climate action
To have a fair chance of limiting the global temperature increase to less than 1.5 degrees by 2100, European carbon emissions need to be reduced by more than 95% by 2050. The development of offshore renewable energy will play a fundamental role in protecting our environment and NISA has the capacity to play a major role in this for Ireland.
In its Climate Action Plan, the Government has committed to increasing its offshore wind production by 3.5 GW in the next ten years. If built out to full capacity, then NISA will fulfil one-seventh of this commitment on its own. NISA has the capacity to power a half a million Irish homes using clean, renewable Irish resources, minimising our reliance on fossil fuels. This project makes sense not only for our future generations but for the here and now. Through careful design development, this proposal will form a step change in addressing the climate change challenges that we all face.
Investment and jobs
As well as the need for renewable energy to reduce our carbon emissions and combat climate change, renewable energy brings significant macroeconomic benefits. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has estimated that onshore and offshore wind generation could create over 20,000 direct installation and operation and maintenance jobs by 2040. Offshore wind creates employment opportunities in manufacturing, construction, scientific research and electricity generation, with offshore wind developers providing training to create the high-skilled workforce required. A report by Cambridge Econometrics on the UK economy found that, compared to a future system relying on gas, large-scale investment in offshore wind would see a GDP increase of 0.8% by 2030.
Carbon Tax
With the increase of the carbon tax rate announced in last year’s budget, unless we increase our renewable energy output, energy bills will increase. The cost of producing renewable energy has decreased dramatically over the last few years and will likely continue to do so. These two factors together mean that more renewable energy will result in reduced energy bills for families and businesses.
Energy Security
In 2017 Ireland imported 66% of its energy from abroad. With changing political climates and fossil fuel resources worldwide decreasing, it would not be wise for us as a country to continue to rely on imported energy to this degree.
Imported energy is predominantly in the form of fossil fuels, are not only polluting and adding to the climate change challenge, but are also finite. By investing in renewable energy, we can reduce our reliance on imports and increase our energy security.
The NISA project has the capacity to generate enough energy to power 500,000 homes. This means that a significant portion of the electricity used in the local area can be green, and it can be local. Instead of relying on more expensive, imported energy, we will be able to produce our own electricity using the resources available to us – namely, the wind off the coast in the Irish Sea.
Community Benefit
We will be developing a Community Benefit scheme over the coming years in collaboration with local communities, relevant authorities and local groups. Through this annual funding, the NISA project will support a range of local communities, including both the local coastal communities and the fishing communities. We will seek input on how these funds could deliver a meaningful difference in the local area and we will work with local communities and local representatives to shape the scheme.
Funding opportunities for community projects associated with offshore wind farms will be aligned with the Government’s new Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS). A new RESS scheme is currently being developed for the offshore sector and it is expected that this will require renewable developers to set aside €2 per MWh of electricity produced, for community benefit funds associated with local renewable energy projects. This being the case, once NISA becomes operational, an annual, multi-million Euro fund will be available for the local area.
Rates to Local Authorities
As with any business venture, rates will be payable to local authorities. Whilst the exact rates that will be payable are not yet known, it can be said that these rates would be significant and make a meaningful contribution to the annual accounts of those local authorities. An added benefit of these rates is that they will be dependable sources of income given their reduced exposure to economic cycles.
Business Opportunity
We will be actively encouraging a local supply chain as much as possible and we are working with industry bodies, state agencies and Government to ensure as much of the investment and job creation as possible is made into the local and national economy. If you would like your company to be considered as a supplier get in touch. We will hold all submissions in a secure database and will contact applicable suppliers during the relevant stages of the project.
