Ireland has a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to supply Germany’s huge energy needs with green hydrogen via wind power, a German government official has said.
Jürgen Friedrich, Germany’s ministerial envoy for international hydrogen projects, told a conference in Dublin that offshore wind energy from Ireland’s west coast is one of the few completely reliable sources of renewable energy in the world.
Germany’s plan to decarbonise its economy is being accelerated, he said, with the production of a hydrogen grid, the first phase of which is due to open next year, to transport hydrogen energy around the country.
The grid is due to be completed by 2032 at the cost of €19 billion. It is envisaged that it will provide green power for many of Germany’s energy-intensive heavy industries such as steelmaking, car making and construction.
Dr Friedrich said Ireland’s existing gas network and the UK-Ireland natural gas interconnector could be repurposed to transport hydrogen energy generated offshore via Scotland and a pipeline under the North Sea.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ireland is in a unique position with one of the largest resources of offshore wind,” he said. “Our joint vision is that Ireland is part of Europe’s hydrogen engine especially as part of the connectivity we are going to establish in the North Sea.
The Irish and German governments signed a joint declaration of intent to co-operate on green hydrogen in May last year.
“In our expectation, Ireland will be part of a major corridor to supply hydrogen to not only Germany, but to other takers in central Europe.”
Last week, Scotland unveiled its plans to export hydrogen via its offshore wind sector. It envisages that, by 2045, Scotland could produce up to 3.3 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually, of which 2.5 million tonnes could be exported.
To date, there are no wind farms off the Irish west coast because of the logistical difficulties of erecting wind turbines in such a harsh Atlantic environment.
There are three projects proposed for off the west coast which envisage converting offshore wind to hydrogen – the Valentia Island project, the Achill Island project and the Aran Islands project. All are proposed to operate 22 kilometres offshore on floating platforms.
Local communities have been informed of the viability of such projects and the potential economic benefits for the community. The energy would be pumped under the seabed to the existing gas network.
Energy Co-operatives Ireland chief executive Cormac Walsh said the Norwegian government had demonstrated that the technology for floating wind turbines has been successfully trialed in the North Sea. “The Irish Government policy is to have a demonstration unit here, but it is being demonstrated and tested elsewhere,” he said.
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Publish date : 2024-12-03 09:32:00
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