Exploring Ireland's Path to Net-Zero by 2050: Fully Renewable vs Nuclear + Renewable As an island nation, #Ireland faces unique challenges in achieving energy self-sufficiency while targeting net-zero emissions by 2050. In this analysis, I model two scenarios: a fully renewable system and one incorporating nuclear power. Both paths have merits and trade-offs—let's dive in! 🇮🇪⚡️ #NetZero #EnergyTransition #Ireland2050 The Model Overview The sectors modeled include power (70 TWh demand, 30 TWh more than today), hydrogen for Power-to-X (20 TWh), and heat (35 TWh substitution of oil/gas heating, using heat pumps and district heating). It's based on EirGrid production data and German offshore wind profiles as a proxy, optimizing for cost. Scenario 1: Fully Renewable This path relies on 74 TWh onshore wind, 23 TWh offshore wind, 23 TWh solar, and 8 TWh gas (with CCS). A key challenge will be the need for ~6000 turbines (@5MW) onshore, which could strain Ireland’s limited land area and lead to local opposition and planning delays. The system requires higher storage (26 GWh batteries plus hydrogen and heat storages) and peak power (37 GW). 🌬️☀️ This leverages Ireland's strong wind resources but demands significant infrastructure. Scenario 2: Renewable + Nuclear @ 7 BEUR/GW Here, 50 TWh from nuclear reduces wind and solar needs (e.g., onshore wind drops to 53 TWh, and offshore to 4.4 TWh), with lower peak power (26 GW) and smaller storage (11 GWh batteries). The opportunity here is to trade onshore wind for offshore. Challenges include nuclear cost overruns and policy barriers under Ireland's current nuclear ban. ⚛️ Nuclear provides baseload stability in a more compact setup. What are your thoughts on Ireland's energy future? Would love to hear from you energy experts out there! ☘️ Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/dSc-4CWA #RenewableEnergy #NuclearEnergy #Sustainability #Ireland #PyPSA
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This looks like an important body of work by Bengt J. Olsson It adds further strength to the argument that nuclear in Ireland must be seriously considered in our quest for affordable and reliable clean energy. Adding nuclear to renewables increases certainty and security in achieving net zero while reducing complexity and costs Nuclear isn't easy but including nuclear makes net zero much less difficult and expensive
I’ve updated the post https://lnkd.in/dSc-4CWA with some important modifications: - Onshore wind capped at 15 GW This addresses the issue of excessive onshore wind relative to land availability. The 15 GW figure is based on Wind Energy Ireland / MaREI, extended to cover the whole island. - Higher future wind capacity factors: 30% (onshore) / 50% (offshore) To reflect expected improvements in turbine technology and siting. The higher capacity factors reduce the total GW of wind required and also led to a lower assumed nuclear cost of €6 billion per GW to maintain a balanced nuclear-to-renewables ratio. Despite these adjustments—less wind capacity in GW, capped onshore expansion, and lower nuclear costs—the qualitative conclusions remain largely unchanged.