Danny Healy-Rae urges Shannon LNG as winter energy fears grow
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae warned of an imminent energy shortage and urged that Shannon LNG be advanced to import natural gas, not frack gas, to address winter risks. He questioned available generation capacity and pressed for clarity on gas-fired generators currently under repair.
Urgent call for Shannon LNG
Healy-Rae argued there is an urgent need for Shannon LNG to get off the ground to import natural gas, specifying that it should not be frack gas. He warned households could be left cold this winter if alternatives are not available.
Concerns about gas-fired generators
Healy-Rae said two gas-fired generators are being repaired and hoped they would be back in service by October, leaving the system in a precarious position. He asked that the Tánaiste be informed of any additional generator outages and stressed the scarcity of time before winter.
Professor's response on electricity and LNG
Professor McMullen replied that building the Shannon LNG terminal would take time and that the electricity supply problem has nothing to do with natural gas supply, so LNG would not address the immediate threat to electricity this winter. He said LNG would not solve the short-term electricity security concern.
Offshore wind timeline contested
Healy-Rae suggested offshore wind is at least 10 years away, but Professor McMullen countered that many successful offshore wind projects exist in Europe and worldwide and disputed the 10-year claim. The professor noted Ireland already has a small offshore facility off the Arthal Bank and said offshore wind could be built faster with the right incentives.
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Thank you very much, Chairman. I want to thank Professor McMullen for his input here today. I suppose, Professor, you will agree that offshore wind energy is at least 10 years away. In the meantime, and especially this winter, it appears that we have an energy shortage and people in their homes may be cold as they may have no other options than electricity. And as for the question I'm asking you, do you agree that there's an urgent need now for Shannon LNG to get off the ground and import natural gas, not frack gas? And you have mentioned a lot about gas-fired generators for generating electricity. The tarnish that put the terror of God in many people, when he was answering questions in the dialogue, maybe less than a week ago, when he said that we have two gas-fired generators being repaired at the present time and hopefully they will be repaired in the month of October. We're in a fairly precarious position. We're in a fairly precarious position, Professor, and if you know about more gas-fired generators, I would be grateful if you let the tarnish to know at least, because it seems that we're down to two, hoping that they'll be repaired in the month of October. That leaves a lot of people in precarious positions for the coming months, and especially if the winter, which could be very cold, but after a lot of warm winters, maybe we'll get a very cold different winter this year. So, I suppose the time is scarce. I have a lot more questions, but I'll let you answer those. Thank you. Professor, if you could answer within a minute, if that's possible, it'd be great. I'll take the second question first. Building the Shannon LNG terminal would take a certain period of time, but the problem with electricity supply has nothing to do with natural gas supply. So, it would not address the threat to electricity supply this winter or the following winter in any way, shape, or form. In terms of offshore wind, there are already many successful offshore wind projects working in Europe and in the world more generally. There is no reason why it'll take 10 years to get our – I mean, we have one small offshore wind facility off the Arthal Bank in Ireland already, but that is a very small offshore field, offshore farm. It's absolutely possible with the right incentives and schemes in place to build out offshore wind much faster than 10 years, the 10 years that Deputy Healy Ray suggests. Thank you.
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