Using Renewable Energy Resources Could Boost Ireland's GDP - SEAI

Using our indigenous renewable energy resources to meet renewable energy targets could boost Ireland's GDP and support thousands of new jobs, according to reports published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

A Macroeconomic Analysis of Bioenergy Use to 2020 and a Macroeconomic Analysis of Onshore Wind Deployment to 2020 demonstrate that Ireland will also reduce its fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the analysis shows that, in the case of bioenergy, the jobs potential doubles to 5,500 if we use locally sourced biomass such as by-products of the wood and forest industries and energy crops.


Dr Eimear Cotter, SEAI Head of Low Carbon Technologies said: "We import huge amounts of fossil fuels every year and yet we have rich, local and clean resources that we could use instead to better meet our energy needs. Renewable energy offers a strong opportunity to quickly create new jobs in Ireland, in particular in agriculture and forestry from local sourcing of biomass."

SEAI's Sustainable Energy Economic Model is based on detailed information on the structure of the Irish economy and population demographics. This model was used to assess the impact of renewable technology investment on the economy; the anticipated investment to 2020, sufficient to meet our renewable targets, was compared with a hypothetical scenario where no further investment takes place post-2013.

(CD/MH)