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ESB Chief Executive, Padraig McManus has urged the Government
to promote electricity use in transport.
He told the Irish Management Institute's annual conference
in Enniskerry that electricity is the cleanest and most efficient
energy at the point of use.
Speaking at the conference, Mr McManus outlined how the ESB
was working towards a position where it had "net zero carbon
emissions" by 2035. The State-owned organisation plans to
replace its oil and coal-fired stations with wind and ocean
energy and stations powered by 'clean coal' over the
next 25 years. This is part of a €22 billion capital investment
by the company to 2022 (Click
Here).
Mr McManus said the electricity required to power all of
our cars here would amount to about 2,000 megawatts per day.
He said that this could easily be supplied by electricity
providers - including the ESB - during the night, when most
people are asleep and demand level is low. The ESB's electricity
output is currently about 5,500 megawatts.
"I believe the Government should look to maximise the use
of electricity in the economy and particularly in the transport
sector" - Mr McManus said. "The development of electric cars
is going to grow and I think Ireland should be pushing in
that direction."
Commenting on public transport, Mr McManus cited the example
of Belgium, where about 85 per cent of the rail services are
electrified - in Ireland that figure is just 3 per cent -
adding that this shift would probably be a "slow process".
Mr McManus said that we should begin working towards this
scenario now - starting with investment in buses powered by
electricity.
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