The Electricity Exchange by VIOTAS

Decarbonisation: Driving Change Through Policy

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:20:33 GMT

Policy is the ultimate driver of change, setting out near-term changes to achieve longer-term benefits. In this episode, we discuss the thinking behind European policy on decarbonisation and how this makes its way down to national policy and implementation. What are the key policies in play at the moment, the key targets they are driving, and how do we see these being realised in various sectors (electricity transport, heat, agriculture)?

Joining Paddy Finn are Brian Leddin, Green Party TD and Chair of Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change, and Dr. Tanya Harrington, Chairperson Renewable Energy Ireland and Senior Advisor at Just Climate. Together the panel discuss the ancillary benefits of decarbonisation, such as energy security and local job creation, as well as the challenges faced by politicians as they strive to act in the long-term interest of society.

The Electricity Exchange is a series of discussions hosted by Dr Paddy Finn, VIOTAS CEO & CTO. Together with industry experts, Paddy and guests analyse and discuss a wide variety of topics related to electricity, the energy landscape and what the future may look like.

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We Have More Green Capital Than Projects

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:20:20 GMT

Investing in electricity system assets and service provision was historically a well-trodden path, resulting in well-understood deterministic outcomes. However, the electricity system/market is currently in a significant state of flux, and certain prices (e.g., Fast Frequency Response) have been linked to conditions that are outside of the control of the service provider.

In this episode of The Electricity Exchange, we look at how investors are managing this uncertainty. We attempt to understand the key investment signals that are deemed essential to the delivery of the energy systems that underpin national targets, while also discussing related issues such as planning, environmental restrictions, grid connections, and community engagement that stand serve as practical barriers to delivering on our decarbonisation targets.

Joining Paddy Finn are Eddie O'Connor, Chairman of the Board at Supernode, and John Mullins, Executive Chairman at Amarenco. Together the panel discuss the level of investment that is being directed towards decarbonisation and delivering a highly renewable, but reliable electricity system, and the cost and benefits attached to it.

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Demand Response & Grid Flexibility: Smart Solutions for Smart Grids

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:20:08 GMT

The electricity system is losing key characteristics inherent in conventional generation, which have underpinned the operation of power grids since their inception - highly available, highly controllable, high inertia. These characteristics now need to be supplemented by other methods.

In this episode of The Electricity Exchange, we discuss how, enabled by technology, electricity customers can serve as a flexible source of these characteristics and form a key part of the mosaic of solutions needed to decarbonise, while delivering value back to said customers.

Joining Paddy Finn are Ellen Diskin, Head of the National Network, Local Connections Programme at ESB Networks, and Jon Sedgwick, Head of Market Operations at VIOTAS. Together the panel discuss how this traditionally one-way system must become a smart two-way relationship between generation and demand, through Demand Response participation and enhanced grid flexibility.

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Renewable Heat: Turning up the Dial on Decarbonisation

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:19:40 GMT

Accounting for 44% of final energy consumption in Ireland and given its non-negotiable link to quality of life as an essential utility, heat will play a critical role in meeting Ireland’s overall decarbonisation and energy security objectives. With ongoing and upcoming initiatives to improve the efficiency of our heating requirements so we use less, in this episode, we discuss what can be done to decarbonise the heat that we use.

Joining Paddy are Donna Gartland, CEO at Codema, and David Connolly, CTO at Astatine. Together the panel cover the opportunities that exist in utilising otherwise disposed heat through district heating networks, with the guidance of examples in comparable countries, and the potential for heat to leverage the increasing renewable content in our electricity system by electrifying traditional fossil fuel heating systems in homes and businesses.

The Electricity Exchange is a series of discussions hosted by Dr. Paddy Finn, VIOTAS CEO & CTO. Together with industry experts, Paddy and guests analyse and discuss a wide variety of topics related to electricity, the energy landscape and what the future may look like.

Subscribe to be informed when new episodes are launched.

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Storage Technologies and the Future Role of Hydrogen

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:18:16 GMT

If renewable energy was iron, then storage would be vitamin C, playing a vital role in the energy system’s ability to absorb the variable renewable energy sources available to us. However, beneath the umbrella term that is “storage” lies a broad range of technologies, from the lithium-ion batteries that we are all familiar with, to compressed hydrogen stored in salt caverns.

But what are the strengths of each of these storage technologies, and what roles can they individually play in replacing the various characteristics that we lose as we make the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy? Is hydrogen the answer to all our problems, or do we need to stop looking to it as a silver bullet on the horizon?

To find out, Paddy Finn talks to Frank Burke, Technical Advisor to the Irish Energy Storage Association, and Rory Monaghan, National University of Ireland Galway, who has specialised in hydrogen for almost 20 years.

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Ireland's Renewable Success: How Do We Build On It?

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:17:56 GMT

What changes to the renewable energy portfolio will deliver future targets and can learnings from the wind industry guide the path of the solar industry?

Ireland has successfully delivered on very ambitious renewable energy targets in the electricity sector, mainly due to the growth of wind energy on the island. In this episode of The Electricity Exchange, Conall Bolger from Irish Solar Energy Association and Noel Cunniffe from Wind Energy Ireland, join Paddy Finn to discuss what has been achieved and the key obstacles that had to be overcome on that journey.

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Renewable energy: How will decarbonising the grid impact our lives?

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 15:17:45 GMT

In this episode, we discuss the key drivers behind the need to decarbonise and how Ireland can maximise its contribution to this global effort. We talk about future threats if we fail to act, the need for a multi-pronged approach, and the benefits we can expect to see in return.

Joining Paddy Finn are two people who have heavily informed the thinking behind our policies: Dr Paul Deane and Paddy Phelan. Dr Paul Deane is a senior research fellow in clean energy futures at the Environmental Research Institute’s MaREI Centre in UCC. He has authored and co-authored over 150 technical papers on the future of energy in areas such as electricity markets, European and global power systems, renewable energy integration and energy access. While Paddy Phelan is CEO at 3 Counties Energy Agency (3CEA) and has a strong track record in innovative delivery and strategically advising clients on all matters sustainable across Energy, Finance, Climate and Planning. President of IRBEA, Chairman of AIEA (2019-2021), Member of Chambers Ireland Low Carbon Task Force since 2018.

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