Gas Networks Ireland said that it looks forward to biomethane supply “ramping up” in the coming years as the decarbonisation of the Irish gas network progresses.
Irish gas demand rose by 3% in July this year compared to June, but was 7% lower than the same month in 2020.
Milder weather and the continued temporary closure of a number of gas-fired power plants were the largest factors in this, according to Gas Networks Ireland’s July Gas Demand Statement.
Wind fell sharply, generating only 11.8% of Ireland’s electricity in July; less than 1% at times.
Gas continued to do the “heavy lifting”, providing 56% of the country’s electricity, which would have been higher but for the aforementioned closure of gas-fired power plants for planned and unplanned maintenance.
As a result, coal generation remained high, providing 12% of Ireland’s electricity while the interconnection with the UK, including Northern Ireland, provided nearly 16%.
At its peak, gas provided 73% of electricity supply in July, while wind peaked at 53% and coal at 25%.
Biomethane a key priority
Gas Networks Ireland’s head of regulatory affairs, Brian Mullins, said that the recent publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report “highlights the challenge that we face in terms of addressing climate change and the urgency with which we must act”.
“Moving away from fossil fuel to renewable alternatives, such as biomethane and hydrogen, is a key priority for our business and for the people of Ireland,” Mullins said.
“With the development of our Hydrogen Innovation Centre in Dublin, we are working to ensure that when hydrogen becomes available at scale in Ireland, we can safely transport it through our €2.7 billion, 14,617km network.
“We are already transporting small volumes of biomethane made from agricultural and food waste on our network and look forward to this supply ramping up in the coming years as we progress the decarbonisation of the gas network.
“The lack of availability of a number of combined-cycle gas turbine power plants shows the important role that gas plays in maintaining the balance between real time and long-term energy security and facilitating the development of increased [but intermittent] renewable generation sources.
“In a month where wind supply was even lower than normal for July, coal generation was once again high.
“As we transition to a net-zero carbon energy system, Ireland needs to have sufficient gas generation capacity to ensure that we can meet our energy requirements using the cleanest and most efficient energy mix.”