Transition to 100% renewable energy system could create 100,000 jobs
The Green Party today outlined how a solar power revolution could help us end the use of fossil fuels in Ireland, and create up to 100,000 jobs. The installation of 500MW of photovoltaic capacity could create 3,000 jobs and meet 10% of our renewable electricity target by 2020.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said today: “We need Ireland to go fossil free by the middle of this century and solar is going to play a vital role in making that happen. Renewable electricity will run our cars and heat our homes as well as powering our industry. This transition will be a central part in the move to a 100% renewable power system that could provide an estimated 100,000 new jobs in our economy.
“The cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar power is continuing to fall and the level of investment is continuing to rise across the world. The Green Party want to put PV solar panels on the roof of every public building, and will encourage households to do the same.
“When Tipperary County Council installed PV solar panels on their buildings, they saved 11% on their electricity bills. A €326,850 investment will pay for itself in just 7 years. With Ireland spending over €6 billion a year on imported energy, we can make significant savings relatively quickly. We can benefit local economies by generating power on our rooftops.
“We would instruct the energy regulator to introduce mechanisms where producers are able to get a price for the electricity that they export to the grid when they have excess capacity above their own needs. The price for such exports could range from 9 - 15 cent per kilowatt hour depending on the size of the installation and whether it is part of a new building or retrofitting an existing roof and would be secured for fifteen years. Future supply contracts for any exports from rooftop PV would be scaled back as the cost of this power supply continues to fall. The support mechanism for large scale PV installations in the field would be treated in a different manner using a bidding process to assess the lowest available cost of production.
“When this proposal is taken in conjunction with a massive roll out of home retrofitting, it results in warmer homes, cheaper electricity bills, less electricity demand, and more community generated supply. It also creates jobs.
“The whole energy system is starting to change. As the level of variable renewable power continues to rise we need to see a new distributed energy model where the ownership of power supplies is held in as many hands as possible and where every producer has a role to play in balancing our supply. The latest research shows that if Ireland moves towards a fossil free energy system, 100,000 jobs could be created in the process.
“We need to take a pause for a moment and assess how we are going to meet the massive climate change challenge we face. We need to assess how we win back public support for the energy transition which has been stalled. One of the ways we can speed up the transition is by putting power back in the hands of the people and the best immediate option for doing that is to switch on our solar power supply. We want to put power back in the hands of the people by switching on our solar power supply.”
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