Irish homes and businesses used record quantities of natural gas as the weather cooled this month, boosting imports of the fuel, which is critical to generating electricity, according to a State utility.
Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), responsible for the networks that transport the fuel, confirmed this week that natural gas consumption throughout Ireland and the Isle of Man hit 355 giga watt hours (GWh) on Wednesday December 11th, a new record.
The previous high was 345GWh, reached two years ago. Natural gas is measured according to the amount of electricity a given quantity can generate.
Close to 90 per cent of the gas used was imported via the Moffat Interconnector, a pipeline that connects this country with Scotland, which also supplies the Isle of Man. The gas imported comes from British or Norwegian reserves.
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According to GNI, the Corrib field off the Mayo coast, Ireland’s only current reservoir, supplied 10.9 per cent of the gas consumed that Wednesday.
The State company noted that gas demand was high here partly because wind speeds were low, limiting the amount of renewable electricity available.
GNI recently said that natural gas generated 51 per cent of Ireland’s electricity in November, up from 42 per cent in October, and accounted for almost three-quarters of it during between the 11th and 14th of the month.
Cold spells and low wind speeds boosted reliance on the fuel, according to the State company. Wind farms generated 29 per cent of the electricity used here last month.
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Edwina Nyhan, its director of strategy and regulation, said this highlighted “the critical role gas continues to play in supporting Ireland’s energy needs”.
GNI is preparing to “decarbonise” the Irish system and aims to transport 100 per cent renewable gas, including biomethane and green hydrogen, by 2045, when this will have replaced all natural gas.
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