With even a theoretical ceasefire proving uneasy in the US-Iran war, the fuel crisis remains a concern for policymakers, politicians and working people alike.
In Ireland, there is something of a second uneasy ceasefire between fuel protestors and government, as the reliefs granted by the emergency package could be wiped out any week if the situation in the middle east takes a turn for the worst.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is pushing for the European Commission to get ahead of the energy crisis by reducing dependence on energy from outside the European Union.
Addressing the Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee this week, of which Ms Ní Mhurchú is a Member, the MEP for Ireland South highlighted a number of areas where the EU could remove bottlenecks to promote energy independence.
“Solar’s upfront costs are a barrier and often grids can’t handle the extra surge in power available,” she explained. “Also 98% of solar panels come from China when we should be making these in Europe ourselves."
Regarding off-shore wind, Ní Mhurchú said, “Off-shore wind is not driving forward quickly enough due to a lack of planning consistency across the Union.” She also warned that this could create an erosion in investor confidence.
“…Irelands only off shore wind site in the Arklow bank is producing 25 mega-watts and we have a 5 giga-watt target in 2030. So what we are producing at the Arklow bank is just 0.5% of that 2030 target.”
The MEP called on the Commission to incentivise and support members states to speed up the planning process for off shore wind projects. Ni Mhurchú explained to the Committee that the Irish Government had recently floated the possibility of revisiting nuclear powered energy.
“What role can the Commission play in helping Member States that wish to develop nuclear power infrastructure in particular helping to reduce costs through common procurement, improved supply chains and the consistent exchange of safety standards for new facilities?
MEP Ní Mhurchú concluded by saying the energy crisis is causing considerable hardship across the EU, and while individual Governments are creating packages of short term supports, the EU must lead on a long term strategy to create energy security and recuse the Union’s exposure to such events in the future.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
