Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 October 2011
16 Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the proportion of primary energy input into each of the State’s fossil-fuel-powered electricity generation stations that is ultimately consumed by end users; the proportion lost in transmission through the electricity grid network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29913/11]
View answerThe Single Electricity Market is an all island wholesale market for electricity. Electricity generators sell their power into a central pool, from which it is then dispatched to consumers by EirGrid and SONI as the Transmission System Operators on the island.
Data on the amounts of fuel used by individual generating stations are commercially sensitive market information and are not disclosed.
There are a number of factors that influence the amount of electricity generated by any fossil fuel, or thermal, generating plant over the course of a year, including demand levels, wind levels and maintenance schedules. As a result, analysis of the mix of fuels used for thermal generation is done by fuel type rather than individual stations.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) prepares an annual report on Ireland's Energy Balance. This identifies the amounts of fossil fuels used in electricity generation and their share of the Total Primary Energy Requirement. The figures for 2009 show that gas fired electricity generation accounted for 64 percent of our total gas demand, while electricity generated from coal accounted for 70 percent of the total amount of coal used in Ireland. As regards oil and peat, electricity generated from these fuels accounted for 3 and 67 percent, respectively, of the total amounts of these fuels consumed in Ireland. I have asked the SEAI to provide the Deputy with additional technical information.
The breakdown of the fuel mix for electricity generation in 2010, as published by the Commission for Regulation in its annual Fuel Mix Disclosure, shows that natural gas was the predominant fuel for power generation, followed by coal, and renewable energy. In relation to losses on the transmission system, EirGrid advises that losses of electricity are estimated at 2 to 3 percent. One of the ways in which those losses are reduced during the bulk transportation of power nationally is through the use of higher voltage lines. Therefore, it is critical to maintain investment in our high voltage network.
