An ambitious plan to reduce Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels has caught the country’s imagination, with more 2,000 people agreeing to volunteer within days of its launch.
The Spirit of Ireland’s key concept is to harness wind as an energy source. While that has been promoted many times before, what makes this initiative different is its plan to deal with the downsides of wind energy such as:
Its volatility and variability
Locations of wind farms in areas where there is sufficient energy infrastructure
Difficulties which networks have in using wind to meet highs and lows in energy demands
Spirit of Ireland is proposing large hydro storage reservoirs, where wind energy can be stored to overcome these problems. Over a six month period an expert team have been testing the feasibility of the idea. They include academics, engineers, geologists, hydro-geologists, construction specialists, lawyers and accountants, all of whom agreed to volunteer for this initiative.
Among the founding team are Graham O’Donnell, an electrical and electronics engineer, physicist Professor Igor Shvets from Trinity College Dublin, Dr Pat O’Donoghue, an electrical engineer and a former senior ESB manager and Mark Wheeler and Dermot McDonnell, two partners in a hydro electric business.
They are convinced the concept will get the necessary support and funding to make it happen: “When completed over the next five years, like Ardnacrusha and rural electrification, this project will transform Ireland. The combination of wind farms and hydro storage reservoirs will end our dependence on imported oil, gas and coal for power generation. We will be saving billions every year which we need for our hospitals, schools and pensions. Our economy and environment will be renewed.”
The Spirit of Ireland has met with an enthusiastic response from government, businesses and the general public.
Learn more about Spirit of Ireland
Join the discussion in the initiative’s online forum
