|
|
| Fig. 1: Corrib gas field and pipeline route to the landfall site at Glengad, County Mayo. [5] (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Ireland's energy system depends overwhelmingly on foreign-sourced fuels. Because the island has almost no indigenous fossil fuel and limited large-scale hydro, nearly all of the energy that powers transportation, electricity generation, and heating originates abroad. Here we quantify Ireland's annual import dependence. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Ireland's total Primary Energy Requirement (TPER) in 2022 was 167.1 TWh, or [1]
The SEAI report shows that in 2022, Ireland's import dependence stood at approximately 81.6% of its TPER. [1] Thus we have
| Imported Energy | = | 0.816 × 6.02 × 1017 J = 4.91 x 1017 J |
| Domestic Energy | = | (1 - 0.816) × 6.02 × 1017 J = 1.11 × 1017 J |
Table 1 shows the breakdown of Ireland's 2022 primary energy requirement by fuel type. This shows how totally reliant Ireland is on imported energy.
Historically, Ireland's import dependence exceeded 90% in the 2000s, dipped sharply around 2016 when the Corrib gas field ramped up, and by 2022 stood at ~81.6%. [1] The Corrib Gas Field is a natural gas reservoir located about 83 km off the northwest coast of County Mayo, developed by Shell and partners to supply Ireland's domestic market. [5] Production began in late 2015 after years of delay and reached peak output in 2016 [5], temporarily reducing Ireland's import dependence by roughly one-quarter. The field produces from the Corrib Sandstone Formation within the Jurassic Lias Group and is sealed by overlying shales of the Currach and Kite Groups, as shown in Fig. 1. [2] While growth in onshore wind and solar has contributed to reduced fossil-fuel reliance, the more significant driver in the mid-2010s was the domestic gas field. Thus, the pathway to reducing import dependence remains multifaceted through domestic fossil, renewables, and demand-management. [1]
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Table 1: Breakdown of Ireland's 2022 primary energy requirement by fuel type and import share. [1] |
In 2022, wind generation in Ireland was ~11.2 TWh of electricity output. [1] Ireland's final electricity consumption in 2022 was ~35 TWh. Thus wind supplied ~11.2 / 35 ≈ 32% of Ireland's electricity demand. In joules: 11.2 TWh × 3.6 × 1015 J/TWh ≈ 4.0 x 1016 J. This is significant but still a small fraction of the ~6.0 x 1017 J total primary energy requirement.
To estimate the value of imported energy, an average cost of ~€20 per GJ is assumed. This is consistent with 2022 global energy prices: Brent crude averaged ~$100 per barrel, and one barrel contains 6.12 GJ, giving ~€16/GJ at 2022 exchange rates. European natural gas (TTF) averaged ~€100 per MWh, equivalent to €27.8/GJ. [3]
Ireland's imported energy mix was roughly 55% oil and 40% gas, implying a weighted mean near €20/GJ. [1] This assumption therefore represents a realistic mid-range value for the cost of imported fossil-fuel energy in 2022.
If one assumes an average import cost of €20 per GJ (note: this is an assumption and should be treated as indicative), then [3]
| Imported Energy | = | 4.92 x 1017 J / 109 J / GJ> = 4.92 × 108 GJ |
| Value of imports | ≈ | 4.92 × 108 GJ × €20/GJ = €9.84 billion |
Using an emission factor of ~67 kg CO2 per GJ for fossil fuels, CO2 emissions from imported fuels ≈ 4.92 x 108 GJ × 67 kg/GJ ≈ 3.30 1010 kg CO2, or about 33 million tonnes CO2 per year. [3,4]
As a share of GDP (Ireland's constant-price GDP in 2022 was ~€475 billion), €9.84 billion is about 2.1% of GDP. [3]
Ireland is relatively more dependent on imported energy than other EU countries, importing about 81% of its total primary energy requirement per year. [1] Although substantial growth in wind generation and domestic gas production have helped reduce reliance, true energy independence remains distant. These figures make clear how the physical reality of limited domestic fossil-fuel resources translates into economic and environmental exposure.
© Patrick Flanagan. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] Energy in Ireland 2023," Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), December 2023.
[2] J. M. English and K. L. English, "Carbon Capture and Storage Potential in Ireland - Returning Carbon Whence It Came," First Break 40, 35 (2022).
[3] "EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook 2023," European Environment Agency, 2023.
[4] "CO2 Emissions in 2023," International Energy Agency, February 2024.
[5] "Corrib Onshore Pipeline: Environmental Impact Statement, Vol. 1," Shell Ireland, May 2010.
