Role of local communities in meeting Ireland's future energy needs

 

Speaking at the Meitheal na Gaoithe Annual Workshop, Minister of State Tony Killeen TD emphasised the important role of local communities in meeting Ireland's future energy needs and climate change targets.

The workshop, held in Thurles, County Tipperary, provided information and assistance to developers, as well as updates on recent policy developments in the area.

Minister Killeen said - "With the volatility of the price of oil and the challenges of climate change, we have all come to realise the necessity to develop our own indigenous energy supplies. Cleaner, less carbon-intensive renewable energy is the power source of the future.”

The Minister continued - ”We will continue to rely on onshore wind as the primary vehicle to meet our national renewable energy targets. Development of our wind resource will bring the jobs and investment of the future. The ESB has seen the economic sense as well as the environmental imperative of heading down the renewable route.

“Rural Ireland is contributing enormously to the conversion to renewable energy and it will reap the benefits in the near future. The work being done by Meitheal na Gaoithe will ensure that Ireland has a vibrant wind industry and rural communities will benefit from these new opportunities, while contributing to the fight against climate change” - the Minister concluded.