The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) today (Tuesday September 6) published Ireland’s Energy Balance for 2021, which provides the complete information on Ireland’s energy use.
A rebound in car use after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions is a significant contributor to Ireland’s increased emissions.
Increased energy demand, combined with modest delivery of new renewable capacity, and a low-wind year resulted in Ireland’s renewable energy share remaining unchanged since last year, at just 13.6%.
Margie McCarthy, Director of Research and Policy Insights with SEAI commenting on the Energy Balance data said:
“Overall, the Energy Balance shows us that in the first year of our legally binding carbon budgets, we have seen emissions trending in the complete opposite direction of where we need to be.
“This means we have used a disproportionate amount of our carbon budget in 2021, which results in future years being even more challenging. In addition, looking at the early data from 2022, this trend is worryingly continuing.
“We need to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies to levels as yet unseen here in Ireland. Importantly we also need to drastically increase sustainable energy practices to curtail demand across all sectors of the economy.
A notable positive is that 2021 was the first ever year that Ireland’s indigenous production of renewables was higher than our indigenous production of natural gas.
We also saw a significant rise in electric vehicles on Irish roads and over 11,000 homes receiving Government grants for home energy upgrades, contributing to a 4% reduction of energy demand in that sector.
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You can view the Energy Balance data here.
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SEAI offers a range of Government funded supports for householders, businesses, and communities who want to reduce their fossil fuel use. For information on these supports and further details please visit www.seai.ie