The Annual IERC Conference “Post-Pandemic Charge Towards our 2030 Targets” will take place virtually on 27th, 28th & 29th April
Professor Brian Norton, Head of Energy Research at IERC and MaREI PI, Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, Director of MaREI, University College Cork, and Marie Donnelly, Chair of Climate Change Advisory Council and MaREI Governance Committee member will be speaking at the Annual IERC Conference taking place virtually on 27th, 28th & 29th April.
Conference Sessions
Tuesday, 27th April 2021 10:30 – 13:00
Achieving Ireland’s carbon reduction targets for 2030
In 2020, Ireland’s coalition government committed, as part of its final programme for government, to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 (a 51% reduction over the decade) and to achieving net zero emissions in Ireland by 2050. This goes beyond the targets that have been set previously and will require significantly deeper decarbonisation of the energy, heat and transport sectors than previously planned. This session will explore the implications of this commitment and what might need to happen from a technology, policy and societal point of view to make this 51% reduction in carbon a reality.
Wednesday, 28th April 10:30 – 13:00
Reimagining the role of the energy market in the transition to Net Zero
Electrical power systems and markets were conceived in an era when large-scale fossil fuel generation plant, connected to the transmission grid, was used to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs for all electricity users. In order to reach Net Zero, the electricity sector will need to be completely decarbonised and become instead highly reliant on renewables installed off-shore, on-shore and distributed deep within the electricity system including in people’s homes and communities. Ireland is at the cutting edge of this revolution within one of highest penetrations of renewable energy in the world. This session will focus on the challenges of developing an energy market that equitably delivers value for all customers and energy producers in the context of zero-marginal cost renewable energy distributed across the system from micro-generators up to multi-GW offshore windfarms.
Confirmed Speakers
Professor Brian Norton, Head of Energy Research at IERC and MaREI PI
William Walsh, Chief Executive Officer in SEAI
Dr. Piyush Verma, Senior Energy Market Analyst at IERC
Professor Phil Taylor, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at University of Bristol, UK
Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir, Director of MaREI, University College Cork
Clare Duffy, Network Development & Electrification Manager at ESB Networks
Úna Nic Giolla Choille, Principal Officer in the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications
Marie Donnelly, Chair of Climate Change Advisory Council and MaREI Governance Committee member
Dr. Shafi Khadem, Senior Researcher at IERC
Professor Andrew Keane, Director of the Energy Institute at University College Dublin
Daniel Ring, Managing Director at Lawlor Consulting
Ruth Mourik, Chief Executive Office at DuneWorks B.V.
Dr Venizelos Efthymiou, Chairman of FOSS Research Centre for sustainable energy of the University of Cyprus & Cigre Cyprus.
John Mullins, , Executive Chairman at Amarenco
Marion Jammet, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Irish Green Buildings Council
Donna Gartland, Chief Executive Officer at Codema
Siona Daly, Acting Chief Executive Officer at Tipperary Energy Agency
John Beirne, Hydrogen Development Manager at Ervia
Professor Sarah Culloty, Head of College, Science, Engineering and Food Science at University College Cork