Energy
Can Ireland become a renewable energy superpower? Ireland’s offshore wind energy is potentially the largest domestic source of electricity that can replace imported fossil fuels.
Overview
A just transition to renewable energy is the most critical step towards addressing climate change and one of the most challenging. Energy policy is being shaped globally and is a priority for the Irish government. Wind energy presents our most exciting industrial opportunity for decades as the Irish government (opens in a new window)plans not only to power our own country, but also to export our excess energy to Europe.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 aims to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. As the global demand for energy continues to rise, UCD is working to find innovative solutions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, enhance energy efficiency and promote renewable energy sources.
UCD’s energy researchers contribute to evidence-based policy making and practice across electricity, offshore wind development, built environment, transport and social policy. Under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, UCD is committed to achieving a 51% reduction in energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a 50% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 and is progressing on that path.
Research, Innovation and Impact
The UCD Energy Institute and its (opens in a new window)NexSys research programme are playing an integral part in the energy transition, promoting a net zero carbon energy system and driving innovation in the grid to accommodate renewable electricity.
NexSys (Next Generation Energy Systems) is an all-island, multidisciplinary research and industry consortium led by UCD’s Energy Institute with headline funding from SFI to tackle the challenges of energy decarbonisation and develop evidence-based pathways for a net zero energy system.
It involves 46 leading academics from nine institutions working in partnership with industry and is co-funded by nine industry partners: EirGrid, ESB, Ervia/Gas Networks Ireland, CIE, RWE, SSE, Electric Power Research Institute, Atlantic Hub and Davy.
Its five (opens in a new window)Hub Strands are:
- Energy Systems: determining how energy systems should evolve to decarbonise.
- Water: enabling water utilities to adapt to climate and energy targets.
- Transport: transitioning to decarbonised multi-modal transport and renewable energy use in a fair way.
- Cities & Communities: enabling communities to become inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
- Offshore Wind: reducing lifetime cost and risk of offshore wind technologies.
NexSys is the successor of the Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme, which received €11m funding from SFI and industry partners and was also led by the UCD Energy Institute.
The UCD Energy Institute’s EMPowER Project provides electricity systems modelling services to the Climate Action Modelling Group within the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), providing a unique contribution to their overall research and analysis capacity. This forms part of the national policy modelling capacity that draws on expertise from several different institutions.
Ireland may have exciting wind energy potential but currently there is no way to store electricity produced by either wind or solar power. If energy is not used in real time it is lost. Other UCD research is investigating the use of buildings as energy absorbers in an integrated smart electricity grid; also a technology for storing excess wind energy in the form of compressed air in underground salt caverns.
(opens in a new window)iCRAG is the UCD-hosted, Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre in Applied Geosciences. It also researches sustainable discovery of energy resources and raw materials required for decarbonisation.
Its 150 researchers across eight institutions are creating solutions for a sustainable society by developing innovative science and technologies to better understand the Earth’s past, present and future and how people are connected to it.
Recent iCRAG (opens in a new window)research includes evidence that eggshell waste could recover rare earth elements (REEs) from water, offering a new environmentally friendly method for their extraction. REEs are essential for the technologies used in electric cars and wind turbines but are in relatively short supply.
Education
The UCD College of Engineering and Architecture runs Masters programmes including the ME Energy Systems programme, which prepares engineers for work in designing and developing future energy systems. Also the MSc in Sustainable Energy and Green Technologies, which offers advanced education and training in the development and optimisation of renewable energy resource exploitation.
Campus Initiatives
UCD was the (opens in a new window)first university in Ireland to install an energy monitoring and BMS (Building Management System) in its buildings. This smart technology began as a student project and has grown into an extensive system that remotely monitors and controls heating, lighting and ventilation systems across the campus. A dedicated unit, the Energy Unit, was established within UCD Estates in 2003 with the sole purpose of conserving energy, reducing costs and finding more sustainable energy sources, while simultaneously maintaining or improving comfort levels in buildings.
UCD also has one of the first District Heating Systems to be established in Ireland and is progressively transitioning towards renewable energy to heat its buildings, for example through the installation of large air to water heat pumps.
The UCD Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) is a group of professional and academic staff members and students whose goal is to engage and educate the UCD community on sustainable energy practices and research to reduce carbon emissions.