Energy infrastructure

I was referencing the UAE example where the engineers specified 19 GWh of batteries, likely based on their cloud cover statistics. Which given your own figures would cost €1.9 B.

1 GWh of battery storage can deliver 1 GW for one hour. The UAE example has 19 hours worth of storage at 1 GW of output. Lucky them to only require less than a days storage.

The ESB calculation for a net zero Ireland as per EU requirements in 2050 would require 21 TWh of storage, which I think works out at €2.1 Trillion worth of batteries every 10 years, which is probably why they were panicking and advocating hydrogen for storage.

Exporting electricity is the equivalent of exporting cattle on the hoof.

French are adding value by converting cheap electricity to compute. Ireland are exporting expensive electricity.

We are one damaged pipeline away from destruction of economy and no electricity for months

”They state that Ireland is highly vulnerable to the impact of gas supply disruptions and notes that a Russian naval vessel loitered over the Gas Networks Ireland subsea interconnector last November.

The documents predict that damage to a subsea gas pipeline would take six months to repair, and 250 big plants and campuses could lose gas supply.

These include sectors such as pharma, food, beverages, dairy, and manufacturing, along with airports and universities.”

since we don’t have storage either nor port facilities and grid completely relies on gas to backup unreliable renewables, this is an incredible report

They already know as per article, what you should be asking and worth discussing in a thread about energy infrastructure is;

1. What are we doing about about security wise (increase in defence good, need more)
2. Why is this critical vulnerability in our energy infrastructure not discussed (and who do we blame for getting us to such a vulnerable position)
3. What exact steps if any are being taken to address this critical weakness (lng facilities, storage, more pipes, other sources that don’t depend on gas nor unreliable renewables)
4. How the hell does the country prepare and survive 6+ months without electricity

Perhaps a greater degree of electrical security because you live nearer to a substation as well. Usually with these things you want them making landfall as close as possible to the location of generation. Generating off the Waterford coast and then considering Cork or Wexford for landfall would naturally cost more

So hydrogen storage tech is currently in realm of vapourware with no costs available with best storage location identified not even located in this country but in a neighbouring (nonEU) country whom oscillate between friendly and hostile to us depending on which strain of Brexiteers are at the steering wheel

Oh wait, don't bother. You just joined here and virtually every post of yours is related to criticising renewables. You won't mind if I'm deeply sceptical of such profiles.

Likely the latest iteration of "Gasoline Alley", "the 1922 committee", "Quantum technicial" etc. Really weird behaviour tbh

That’s silly, even the Poles don’t want burn coal

I’m asking for realistic solutions such as higher defence spend for critical energy and infrastructure protection,

so far one of the answers above is in the realm of fantasy especially if Reform get into power next door

One of the major problems with the hydrogen economy idea is that no other country has done it at scale.

A critical deficiency seems to be electrolysers, wherein they are not being manufactured in significant quantity. I think I once calculated that the ESB master plan would require at least an entire years worth of the entire global production.

Consider that most of the hydrogen produced in in the world is done so by processing natural gas, not via electrolysis, because the latter is problematic, and not cheap.

Anyone who pays for expensive electrolysers usually employs them in a continuous operational configuration, for a couple of reasons; firstly to efficiently recoup their investment, and secondly, because they don't like being used intermittently.

In other words, electrolysis of water to produce H is not well suited to intermittent energy. The idealistic idea that you use surplus power to generate hydrogen happens to be a poor fit to the technology.

As if all that weren't enough, electrolysers require ultra pure water, which isn't trivial or cheap to produce.

There is an equal problem when you try to convert the H back into electrical energy. If you use it in place of NG in gas turbines, you end up producing large amounts of NOx. Several companies have experimental gas turbine designs that mitigate or solve this problem, but it's really still being tested and if any workable products eventuates, they are likely to be expensive.

Hydrogen is an absolute can of worms when you start looking into it.

The idea of Ireland becoming a global innovator and leader in creating a hydrogen economy when there is no leading edge domestic industrial capability to facilitate things is just fanciful and ridiculous.

Storage is the easy bit.

When Germany goes from wanting to make H, to talking of importing it instead, anyone thinking Ireland can do this, is away with the fairies.

However, an early green hydrogen hype in Germany and Europe has run into serious headwinds. Numerous projects have been cancelled, including by German companies. Production is expensive, transport complex, and the market trapped in a chicken-and-egg dilemma of demand and supply for the clean fuel.

With the limited scope for renewable energy onshore and offshore the most Ireland can hope for is self-sufficiency w.r.t. naturally occuring internal demand. Pitching Ireland as a Data center location to serve Europe without limit is foolhardy as the demand is insatiable. Let those blessed with nuclear plants or hydro or geothermal serve the market.