Transport: NGVA’s Manuel Lage on natural gas vehicles
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012General Manager of the Natural and bio Gas Vehicles Association (NGVA) Europe, Manuel Lage, talks to Stephen Dineen about the roll-out of natural gas vehicles (NGVs). In his spare time he is an historian of the car industry, and for Manuel Lage a new chapter in global transport is being written. Natural gas is becoming a mainstream alternative transport fuel. There are 1.4 million NGVs in Europe and over 13 million worldwide. In 2010 there was 6 per cent growth and the 2050 Eurogas Roadmap predicts NGVs will represent 9 per cent of the passenger car market and 33 per cent of freight...[full story]
Energy: Oil – an imperfect market
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011With much of Ireland’s energy needs still met by oil, leading energy economist Leo Drollas talks to Owen McQuade about the outlook for future prices. “One of the myths of our business is that costs are behind high oil prices,” states Leo Drollas, who is the chief economist with the international think tank the Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES). “The financial industry often pushes this with its clients. Wall Street is saying: ‘The price of oil is high because costs are rising. It’s difficult to find oil, we are running out of oil’.” Drollas says that this is persuasive...[full story]
Cover story: John Barry – a strategic future for gas
Monday, November 7th, 2011Head of Bord Gáis Networks John Barry talks to Owen McQuade about the importance of natural gas for Ireland’s energy mix and how he anticipates a strong future for the fuel. Natural gas is an important fuel in Ireland and will remain so for the “foreseeable future”, John Barry contends. The Head of Bord Gáis Networks notes that the country currently generates about 60 per cent of its electricity from gas and emphasises that a secure supply (including via interconnectors) will be important to back up the renewable energy sector. “As more renewables come on stream, clearly that...[full story]
Public affairs: Universal energy access – UNIDO
Friday, August 19th, 2011Morgan Bazilian, Special Adviser to the Director General of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and former adviser to Eamon Ryan, discusses how UNIDO is working to help governments in developing countries provide energy to large populations who are without power. Energy is becoming a priority for the UN, according to Morgan Bazilian, who spoke at the annual Energy Ireland conference in June. Three billion people (half the world’s population) are without access to everyday energy for cooking, cleaning and heating their homes; therefore, UNIDO is working with developing...[full story]
Cover story: A new contract with nature – Gabriel D’Arcy
Friday, August 19th, 2011Gabriel D’Arcy, Managing Director of Bord na Móna, tells Owen McQuade about the company’s capacity for diversification and its belief that it is qualified to become the state’s new water utility. In recent years Bord na Móna has produced a “very credible, gritty performance”, recording a minimum increase in earnings of 12.5 per cent in each of the last five years, whilst diversifying from peat production to more sustainable business ventures. Peat now accounts for less than 50 per cent of the company’s revenue. The four main areas of future business are: Renewable energy:...[full story]
Energy: Smart early moves in energy
Friday, May 13th, 2011Strategic leadership can deliver the energy element of Ireland’s smart economy aspirations, SEAI Chief Operations Officer Brian Motherway tells Owen McQuade. “The smart economy, and sustainable energy is a fundamental strategic issue for Ireland,” according to Brian Motherway. “We’re excessively dependent on fossil fuels which are becoming less dependable and more expensive. We have energy costs we need to take out of the system but more than that, we need to identify where the next generation of jobs, enterprise and wealth is going to come from in Ireland. What’s going to...[full story]
Energy: Ireland’s energy future
Friday, May 13th, 2011An ESRI report has reviewed the economic research on energy in Ireland and attempts to identify the full implications of the policy choices we are currently facing. Meadhbh Monahan reports. Described by Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte as having “a lot of sensible substance”, the ‘Review of Irish Energy Policy’ was written by Professor John FitzGerald. The Minister told eolas that he is “minded” to take account of FitzGerald’s proposition that Ireland should continue to enhance its involvement in onshore wind (see pages 16-19). He finds it “hard to argue with” the analysis...[full story]
Energy: Who’s who in energy
Friday, May 13th, 2011An overview of the key players in politics and across the semi-state and private sectors. Pat Rabbitte TD Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Rabbitte was Labour’s justice spokesman in the last Dáil and led the party from 2002 to 2007. He has been TD for Dublin South West since 1989. A Minister of State in the 1994-1997 Rainbow Coalition, he was previously a Dublin City councillor and National Secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. Fergus O’Dowd TD Minister of State A Louth TD since 2002, Fergus O’Dowd was Fine Gael’s education...[full story]
Energy: Getting the technology right
Friday, May 13th, 2011Wavebob CEO Andrew Parish discusses developing ocean wave energy technology with Owen McQuade. “Everyone has an opinion on ocean energy and everyone has a romantic view of the power of the waves,” according to Andrew Parish, who is Chief Executive of Irish wave power technology company Wavebob. However, “trying to get someone to cut a cheque when they know they are investing in high technology risk over a long term, is challenging,” he contends. The ‘Wavebob’ is a floating buoy device that will automatically adjust its response to suit the prevailing wave climate, maximising...[full story]
Energy: The regulatory outlook for renewable energy
Friday, May 13th, 2011Overcoming the volatility of wind energy will be the biggest challenge in meeting the 2020 renewables target, according to CER’s Denis Cagney. Meadhbh Monahan reports. The changes in the Irish energy landscape over the last decade have been “quite dramatic” according to Denis Cagney, the Commission for Energy Regulation’s Director of Gas and Legal Affairs. Speaking to delegates at the 2011 Irish Renewable Energy Summit earlier this year, Cagney said that the Single Electricity market (SEM) is “working to plan”. However, he added that constraints payments (reflecting the difference...[full story]
