[Article] Green producers to get Government power contract

Victor

This will encourage green producers, although there may be an element of it being sop to the investors in the newer companies as they lost certain tax advantages in the budget.

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Green producers to get Government power contract
From:The Irish Independent
Treacy Hogan, Environment Correspondent
Monday, 10th February, 2003

THE Government is planning to buy the electricity for all its departments from "green" suppliers, it was learned last night.

The contract will be worth tens of millions for suppliers of renewable energy using wind or other sources.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern plans to bring a memo to the Government to secure Cabinet approval for the move within the next few weeks.

Mr Ahern who ironically has responsibility for the ESB, which currently supplies the departments has just instructed his officials to begin negotiations with the OPW, which contracts out the electricity supply for the entire civil service, the Irish Independent has learned.

The move will be viewed as "wake-up call" for the ESB to get more involved in the production of green energy, according to one Government source.

The disclosure follows the announcement that the Government is to introduce an across-the-board carbon tax on all fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil from the end of this year, increasing the costs of home heating and electricity bills.

It is envisaged that the Government would put the electricity contract for tender among the companies with Green Licences from the CER (Commission for Energy Regulation).

Companies such as Airtricity, ESBIE, and Energia would compete for the contract and the plan is that the competition would keep prices down and attract existing generators into the green market.

The first department to take all its electricity from the green sector will be Minister Ahern's, followed by other departments as the OPW negotiates contracts.

The green energy sector is completely liberalised, unlike the mainstream electricity sector which is 32pc liberalised and will be 40pc liberalised in February 2004 and 100pc the following year. Liberalised means that once a company produces green energy (wind, hydro, wave etc) they can have access to the market place.

Government sources said handing over electricity supply for all government departments to the green producers would be a major boost for them and show clearly that renewable energy is a realistic alternative.

Typedef

The move will be viewed as "wake-up call" for the ESB to get more involved in the production of green energy, according to one Government source.

Absolutely classic. If the government had been allowed to build the Atomic power stations in Waterford, instead of banging on about 'green energy', the politicos would be banging on about 'day-glo' energy.

Can you spell hypocrite at the ballot box?

In any case, 'at least' the State has made some pithe effort to enunciate a renewable energy policy with the building of the largest offshore windfarm in the world off the Wicklow coast.

It's a start, not the terminal point, which translates into me saying, just because the government have made a small start in this one area, means that even more pressure should be applied to make said political hacks, move this State to as-close to, as can be achieved. An energy policy based on renewable sources of energy 'alone'. I don't think that concept is a pipe dream, merely a course of action that hasn't really been attempted except by States like Iceland.

Ireland has the ability to build many, many more windfarms if it so desires and I think that it should, because sooner or later 'all' the fossil fuels will be burnt and at that point in time, either humans turn to Nuclear power, Hydrogen (if it exists) or (other) forms of renewable energy.

Victor

Originally posted by Typedef
In any case, 'at least' the State has made some pithe effort to enunciate a renewable energy policy with the building of the largest offshore windfarm in the world off the Wicklow coast.

Actually the ESB are planning one at Bray and others are planned for Arklow (http://www.eirtricity.ie/opencontent/default.asp?itemid=211&section=WIND+FARMS) and Wicklow - each location has shallow water off shore.

bonkey

Originally posted by Typedef
Absolutely classic. If the government had been allowed to build the Atomic power stations in Waterford, instead of banging on about 'green energy', the politicos would be banging on about 'day-glo' energy.

Not to mention that other than the possibility of dayglo reactors, the government have spent years refusing ESB the permission to do any further development of any kind, which is what led to the shortages in recent years - it was known they were on the way, but no-one was allowed to do anything in time.

Arguably, they did this to ensure that there was a route for new competition to come into the market, which they hoped would be Irish in origin.

Also, ESB already produce easily enough green energy from their plethora of hydro stations to supply the entire Civil Service if they wish to purchase from them.

Either way its incredibly facetious to say that this is a wakeup call for ESB.
They have the required quantity of green power already, and if they didnt its the people who are looking for it who have prevented the possibility of them having it.

jc

Victor

Actually, I think this has little to do with green energy and all to do with satisfying the previously tax avoiding investors.

How the system works:

Windfarm makes electricity, windfarm owner sells it to ESB / Ngrid (national grid - an ESB subsidiary) at a lowish price. Consumer (government department) uses electricity, which comes from Ngrid cable. It is referred to as a "top up and spill over" system. The green supplier then bills the goverment a higher price (but also has to pay Ngrid a higher price to cover transmission). By bringing government departments into the list of users, earlier than full deregulation and insististing on green electricity, this disproportionately benefits the green producers and the government will end up paying more. If only the government departments produced their electricity on a sustainable (not green per se) CHP (combined heat and power) basis, they would be paying less again. The Dublin City Council Civic Offices in Dublin do this.