I agree with some commenters remarks that the proposals of the Spirit of Ireland to have wind power account for 100% of supplies are a unrealistic, however, the group has certainly caught the attention of the blogosphere. The FF-endorsed Green Party proposal of having renewables account for 40% of power generation in Ireland has similarly captured the attention of the electorate (but it won’t save their hides in the next election). The point is that, while it is improbable that the targets will be achieved, they draw broad support. People like green energy and people like the fact that Ireland IS a good place for wind power generation.

As for the practicalities like power storage and economic viability, at present these are indeed negative points against choosing wind. Well, there are some positives. Any emerging technology is initially expensive due to:

• the low demand (or even lack of awareness of its targeted market)
• immature and possibly relatively inefficient designs
• lack of economies of scale from the low volumes

I think it is safe to say that costs will come down as volumes rise and designs become more efficient. They may not reach a level that makes it competitive with oil or gas at current market prices (based on conventional accounting), however, we rarely take into account the full cost of being dependent on fossil fuel supplies from the Middle East and Russia. Let’s face it – Ireland’s natural gas supplies will shortly run out, unless we get a lucky break if some exploration company makes a find in the Rockall Basin to replace the Corrib and Kinsale Head gas fields.

Reserves of fossil fuels are finite, but there will always be wind. A lower dependence on fossil fuels will moderate the disruption to our oil-based society due to the coming crunch in supplies once oil extraction reaches its peak. Although the expected date of peak oil is disputed, I think that despite advances in extraction technology, it is safe to say that it will happen during our generation.

Another cost that is often overlooked is the military cost involved in the West defending its “interests”. Ireland is involved thanks to our dependence on US foreign direct investment and our implicit support for US military ventures. While the European Union did not generally toe the line of the most recent Bush Administration in their intervention in Iraq (main exception being the UK), its relatively minor involvement was still hugely expensive. The resulting abhorrence towards the West by the Muslim world did not do anything help reduce the risk of related terrorism, which the EU was affected by.

In addition to gradually reducing costs of wind power, we should consider its predictability – at least over the medium to long term. Sure, there are weather anomolies – Ireland does get some windless days. We can be certain, however, that over a period of weeks, months or years, Ireland WILL receive ample wind to drive those turbines thanks to its temperate oceanic climate. Moaning and grumbling notwithstanding, a windy climate does have its advantages. Reliability of fossil fuel supplies is subject to the possibility of them being used as tools of an aggressive foreign policy, or political instability in already unstable parts of the world. The Eastern half of the European Union was severely affected by the recent political tussle between Russia and the Ukraine, via which, the EU derives a large proportion of its natural gas supplies.

With regard to the issue of power storage, I think Gerard O’Neill’s post on his Turbulence Ahead blog (unwittingly?) stumbles on a possible solution:

“we at least can tap our next door neighbour for some spare electricity should we run low ourselves”

Well, that works both ways. In the increasingly liberalised and interconnected EU power market, surplus power generated in Ireland should manage to find a market in other EU countries. As for the hypothetical possibility of exporting power over a substantial distance, for example, to Spain when its solar power supplies are affected by a cloudy period, perhaps the market will become sophisticated enough for some kind of a chained export.  France would export to Spain with the shortfall substituted by power from the UK and in turn, Ireland. Perhaps someone knowledgeable of the subject could shed some light on this.

If there were some way to financially account for all of these associated indirect costs or externalities of fossil fuels, I think wind would not seem as unattractive as what many people currently suggest. At present, renewables have a minuscule presence in power generation in Ireland which warrants further investment and even subsidies (initially) to stimulate the development of the market, industry and technology. A key principle of managing risk to energy supplies is diversification. There is a place for fossil fuels, nuclear power generation (if environmental concerns are taken seriously) AND renewables.