Policy information
Gas
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
Natural gas meets over 30% of Ireland’s energy needs, heating and powering 700,000 homes and businesses and generating over 50% of the electricity Ireland uses. Natural gas in Ireland is currently supplied by a combination of domestic production and imports via pipeline from Scotland. In 2019, 53% of Ireland’s natural gas use was imported from the UK. Following the depletion of the Corrib gas field, Ireland is expected to be dependent on over 80% imports by the mid-2020s and over 90% by 2030.
Maintaining security of supply of gas is a government priority. However, the government is also responsible for reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a goal set out in the Climate Action Plan. The use of renewable sources of gas (including biomethane and hydrogen produced from renewable sources) will have a key role to play in decarbonising the natural gas grid.
The gas network is a system of transmission and distribution pipelines through which natural gas is supplied to Irish homes and business. The transmission network consists of pipelines that operate at high pressures and is used to move large volumes of natural gas. The distribution network consists of smaller distribution pipes which typically supply urban areas. The different sections of the distribution system are connected to the higher pressure transmission system at a pressure reduction station. Very large users of natural gas, such as power stations, are supplied directly from the transmission network. Other users (including residential users) receive natural gas via the distribution network.
Gas Networks Ireland, a public body fully owned by the State, owns, operates, develops and maintains the natural gas network in Ireland. Gas Networks Ireland connects all customers to the network regardless of which natural gas supply company the customer chooses. The development and expansion of the natural gas network, including the connection of new towns, is a matter for Gas Networks Ireland. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Ireland’s independent energy regulator, is responsible for the economic regulation of the Irish gas network. CRU is also responsible for gas safety, and for ensuring that measures are in place for monitoring, assessing and managing security of supply. In addition, CRU has a statutory function in relation to customer protection and the resolution of complaints that customers may have with energy companies.
Ireland’s economy depends on continued secure supplies of natural gas. While some energy supply disruptions are out of our control, it is critical that action is taken in areas where Ireland can exert control, including maintaining a modern gas network. With a significant percentage of Ireland’s electricity being generated from gas, there is a critical interdependence between electricity and gas security.
EU Member States have an obligation under EU Regulation 2017/1938 to have a common approach to emergency planning and response with the establishment of Preventive Action Plans, Emergency Plans and Risk Assessment Plans. These plans will also include regional chapters to ensure a coordinated and pre-agreed approach to security of supply among Member States. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) were designated the competent authority (the organisation delegated with the power) with responsibility for implementing the provision of this Regulation in March 2018.
The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) is carrying out a comprehensive review of the security of energy supply of Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems. The focus of the review is the period to 2030 in the context of ensuring a sustainable pathway to 2050. The review will include a full updated technical analysis of the security of supply challenges which will help inform a public consultation.
A robust and fit-for-purpose gas safety regime is essential to protect lives and property. Responsibility for the regulation of the gas market, including safety, is a statutory function of the CRU which includes:
All the activities and measures relating to gas safety for the domestic and industrial spheres are detailed on the CRU website.
Renewable gas is generally produced in anaerobic digestion plants which can utilise a wide variety of feedstocks ranging from food wastes, to animal slurries to specifically grown energy crops such as grass silage. The anaerobic digestion process breaks down the feedstocks to produce biogas, a mixture of biomethane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). This biogas, which is renewable, can be combusted in boilers to produce heat, or in combined heat and power plants to provide both renewable heat and renewable electricity. Details on how the use of renewable gas is supported in the heat sector are set out in the Renewable Heat section.
Alternatively, the biogas can undergo further upgrading to remove the CO2, to produce an almost pure stream of biomethane. This biomethane can then be injected into the gas network at appropriate points and be transported along with the natural gas to all current gas consumers. This renewable biomethane could then be used in the transport sector in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and in domestic and industrial gas boilers, with no reconfiguration needed, and could potentially be used in Ireland’s gas fired power stations. The production of sustainable biomethane can also help the agriculture sector to reduce its emissions. A by-product of producing biomethane through anaerobic digestion is digestate, which can be used to replace chemical fertilizers. Anaerobic digestion also reduces the amount of methane emitted to the atmosphere through slurry storage.
The Climate Action Plan states that a target should be set for the level of energy to be supplied by indigenous biomethane injection in 2030. This target should take account of the domestic supplies of feedstock that meet strict sustainability criteria and consider how the supports necessary to reach such a target would be funded. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) is currently assessing the appropriate level of target that should be set and business case for supporting renewable gas production in Ireland.
Hydrogen could become a zero carbon substitute for fossil fuels in the coming years. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe making up 90% of all known matter. However, we don’t find naturally occurring pure hydrogen on earth and thus we have to extract it from various substances such as water or fossil fuels. There have been many advances in the use of hydrogen as a fuel in recent years with buses, trucks and cars now operating on hydrogen as a fuel, there are trials ongoing proving hydrogen as a suitable replacement for natural gas in heating and early development of hydrogen powered electricity generating power plants is also underway.
Ireland may have a unique opportunity in the future with our large renewable electricity potential, which could be used to generate hydrogen from water in a process known as electrolysis. DECC is working with European and national stakeholders including Gas Networks Ireland (the transmission system operator) to develop a pathway for the use of hydrogen in Ireland.