Project promises energy independence for Ireland within five years

“Over 90pc of all the electricity we use is generated from imported, fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. We have no control over the fluctuating costs of imported fuel, leaving us strategically naked and resulting in Ireland having the most expensive electricity in Europe,” the Spirit of Ireland group said.

Over the past six months, it has assembled a team of experienced engineers, academics, architects, geologists, hydro-geologists, environmental engineers, construction experts, consultants, and legal and finance professionals to work on ideas proposed by Professor Igor Shvets of Trinity College, Dublin.

Once Ireland is self-reliant in energy terms after five years, the group then plans to create a massive export market for surplus Irish wind energy, which, it said, will result in energy exports from Ireland of up to €50bn over the following 10 years.

To do all this, the challenges presented in harvesting wind energy – its volatile nature as a fuel source, the costs involved capturing and delivering it a power network, the lack of storage capabilities to hold it – must be met through the creation of hydro storage reservoirs, the group said.

Such reservoirs operate on the principle of storing excess wind energy and providing more generation capacity when required. The Turlough Hill facility in the Wicklow Mountains offers a working example of this principle.

Suitable valleys on the west coast of Ireland have been identified that could house these hydro storage reservoirs at modest cost, the group said, and it noted that the idea has worked elsewhere; Japan's J-Power built a successful sea-water storage facility in Okinawa over 10 years ago, and senior executives and engineers from Japan visited Ireland and confirmed the validity of this approach.

In order to achieve energy independence and save €15bn in fossil fuel imports over the next five years, the group said Ireland will need to build two hydro storage reservoirs at a cost of €800m each. Wind farms can then be connected to these reservoirs via a collection network, which would supply natural energy nationwide.

Social consensus on the construction of these facilities is essential to the Spirit of Ireland, and local communities will play a key role in the success of this project.

As well as harnessing excess energy for export, the project also aims to create jobs on a local and national level, which it hopes will lead to huge investment throughout the country. The proposed scheme would also have a massive impact on carbon dioxide emissions.

Graham O'Donnell, an electrical engineer with 20 years’ International Power Grid experience and spokesperson with Professor Igor Shvets for Spirit of Ireland, is now calling on people to consider the role they can play in moving Ireland forward.

“We must decide, as a nation, if we want to take this route to prosperity. We can be the controllers of our country's financial and environmental destiny.

“By harnessing our wind energy resource, we have the potential to become energy independent and self reliant as a nation. As a result, we will cut our carbon emissions, our energy bill and create jobs and wealth for the future good of the country.

"Our people, pension funds and Government can invest in and support this initiative. This has potential to be of huge economic benefit to our country.”

Spirit of Ireland is actively encouraging the public to register their opinion about the project at www.spiritofireland.org.