Electricity generation still dependent on gas

/ 18th May 2022 /

There was an increased need for gas-generated electricity during April as wind levels dropped, according to Gas Networks Ireland.

Some 52% of the country's electricity was generated by gas in April, up 11 percentage points from March and 15 points from the first quarter average.

While gas (38%) and wind (40%) were more or less neck-and-neck in terms of the proportion of electricity they generated during the first three months of the year, gas has now pulled ahead as Ireland's leading source of electricity coming into the summer months.

"As we have moved into late Spring and early Summer, gas is playing an even greater role in meeting Ireland’s energy needs. April through to September tend to be the months of highest gas demand for electricity generation, as wind levels typically fall off," said Brian Mullins, head of regulatory affairs at Gas Networks Ireland.

“Ireland’s gas network continues to be the reliable and flexible backbone of the energy system and key to our energy security of supply.”

Wind energy still had one of its strongest Aprils on record, generating 32% of electricity, supporting a significant reduction in coal generation, with coal accounting for 6% of electricity supply last month.

At times during April, gas provided 89% of electricity and never dropped below 17%, while coal peaked at 22% with a low of 2%. Wind peaked at 75%, but there were times when wind supply dropped almost completely, contributing less than 1%.

Gas was also the primary source of electricity over the Easter weekend, providing 67% on Good Friday and 62% on Easter Monday.

Overall, gas demand declined 1% in April due to a 1C increase in mean temperature during the month, with demand in the residential (-28%), office (-25%), education (-21%) and retail (-11%) sectors all falling month-on-month.

Gas-generated electricity — "As we have moved into late Spring and early Summer, gas is playing an even greater role in meeting Ireland’s energy needs" said Brian Mullins head of regulatory affairs at Gas Networks Ireland. (Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision)

When compared to April 2021, there were significant increases in gas demand from the laundry (+103%), retail (+46%), hotel (+40%) and leisure (+20%) sectors, which is explained by public health restrictions that were in place this time last year.

Gas Networks Ireland will be one of nine industry co-funding partners, along with EirGrid, ESB, CIÉ, RWE, SSE, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Atlantic Hub and Davy, in Next Generation Energy System (NexSysy), an academic-led project to deliver a most cost-effective energy system.

Led by the UCD Energy Institute, and bringing together UCD, Trinity College Dublin, DCU, ESRI, Maynooth University, UCC, NUI Galway, Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast, NexSys is a €16m strategic partnership to examine how to decarbonise the Irish energy sector.

"Climate change is an urgent global challenge, and we are committed to playing a central role in Ireland’s low carbon transition by decarbonising the gas network in line with Irish and EU environmental policy," said Cathal Marley, CEO of Gas Networks Ireland.

“The country needs a ‘whole of energy’ approach to the future. We need to stop seeing gas and electricity as separate and look at how to decarbonise the end-to-end energy system, not just individual fuels."

(Pic: Getty Images)