The Government has approved a plan to develop a floating State-led liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal but it will only be used as an emergency backup in the event of disruption in supplies from the UK.
Minister for Transport, Environment, Climate and Energy Darragh O’Brien brought the plan before Cabinet on Tuesday. The cost and location of the facility has yet to be determined, while he said he could not rule out the possibility fracked gas – the most polluting form of the fossil fuel – will be used.
Mr O’Brien said the investment – estimated at in excess of €300 million, and costing at least €60 million a year to operate – was necessary to ensure Ireland’s short-term energy security and resilience in the face of price fluctuations.
Opposition parties, however, accused the Cabinet of going against the programme for government and failing to consider independent analysis of zero-carbon energy backup options by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates commissioned last year.
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Leading climate and energy specialists in a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin last week said such a “policy relaxation” would not increase Ireland’s energy security, would prolong use of fossil fuels and undermine Ireland’s climate obligations. They cited projections indicating a 43 per cent decline in natural gas demand this decade (relative to 2024) and a 67 per cent drop by 2040.
Mr O’Brien said given the country’s reliance on interconnectors, “our exposure to potential disruption to gas supplies presents a significant risk to our energy security. This emergency reserve will provide an alternative source of gas at an appropriate scale if Ireland was to experience such an interruption.”
The Government believed the country’s “long-term energy security was best achieved through substantial growth in indigenous clean, renewable energy; improvements in energy efficiency; electrification of heat and transport and increased electrical interconnection with our European neighbours”.
“This will minimise imports of fossil energy in the long term. In the meantime [it] will ensure the continuity of gas supply as an essential transitional energy security measure,” he added – Gas Networks Ireland will be responsible for procuring LNG supplies.
The Social Democrats and People Before Profit criticised the Government plan, raising concerns it coincided with warnings Ireland faced fines of up to €26 billion for missing 2030 climate targets.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said she accepted the country faced energy security challenges, but added: “I would have concerns about us locking in infrastructure for fossil fuel development.”
On plans for the terminal to be State-led, she added: “Any plan must be based on science and evidence, and we’re not seeing it...We haven’t heard whether it will be commercial or non-commercial. We need to get some clarity on that before any decisions are made.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said LNG is “literally the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet” and “worse than coal” due to the fracking process to extract it and transport emissions related to the fuel.
Last week the European Commission unveiled its affordable energy action plan based around using clean energy but including a measure to fund LNG projects.
It said it would look at investing in projects abroad as part of plans to “immediately engage” with reliable suppliers to try to lower energy prices. In addition, it would look to aggregate LNG demand from European companies to help them secure long-term deals as a shelter from short-term volatility.
The plan opens the door to the EU backing investments in US LNG projects, according to green opponents in the European Parliament.
Defending the proposal, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen insisted the bloc would still need gas “for some time into the future,” while securing alternative supplies was needed for “getting rid” of the EU’s remaining dependency on Russian imports.
By building more renewables and taking efficiency measures, gas consumption in Europe has declined by 20 per cent over the past two years – to a 10-year low – while use of Europe’s LNG terminals has fallen below 50 per cent.
