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NEWS
Aug/Sept 2011 www.esb.ie/em
ESB led WestWave Project submitted by DCENR for EU Funding
Asset Development
Project receives Foreshore Licences
ESB’S WESTWAVE Project has been selected by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) as one of the projects to go forward for evaluation by the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the EU New Entrant Reserve (NER300) funding mechanism.
The WestWave Project aims to develop the first wave energy project in Ireland by 2015 by generating an initial 5MW of clean renewable electricity from the plentiful wave energy resource available off the west coast of Ireland. WestWave is a collaborative project being led by ESB in conjunction with a number of wave energy technology partners including Irish technology developers Wavebob & Ocean Energy and Scottish technology developers Aquamarine Power & Pelamis Wave Power.
The project will be considered for funding under the EU’s NER300 fund, alongside support under the Republic of Ireland’s Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff (REFIT) for wave energy and domestic grant funding. The project is in line with ESB’s strategy to develop 150MW of electricity from ocean energy by 2020 and the Irish Government’s strategy to generate 500MW from ocean energy in the same period.
In a further development, ESB has been awarded Foreshore Exploration Licenses for the WestWave Project by the Department of Environment, Community and local Government (DECLG). This will enable ESB to conduct marine surveys and resource measurements at two locations, Killard Point, Co. Clare and the Achill Area, Co. Mayo. These sites were identified following a detailed selection process based on mapping studies, site testing, environmental considerations and stakeholder feedback.
ESB Chief Executive, Padraig McManus said, “ESB’s strategy involves focusing on sustainable and renewable energy technologies with the goal of reducing our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net carbon neutrality for our generation portfolio by 2050. We are very pleased that the WestWave Project has been selected by DCENR as one of the Irish projects being put through to the next stage of the NER300 process and we look forward to working with EIB during the next stage of the evaluation process. We also welcome the granting of Foreshore Licenses by DECLG which will enable the project to undertake marine survey work, wave resource assessments and establish environmental baseline data at potential sites.”
Ecars green eMotion
THE IRISH LAUNCH of the EU-funded electric-vehicle project, ‘Green eMotion’, took place in Trinity College Dublin in June. Green eMotion is a project established to advance the use of electric cars across Europe. A total of 42 partners including car manufacturers, energy utilities, universities and technology and research institutions across Europe are joining forces in the project. The four Irish partners, ESB, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City Council’s energy agency Codema and Cork City Council, will receive €1.5 million out of a budget of €24 million.
One of the key objectives of the project is to develop European processes, standards and IT solutions that allow electric vehicle motorists easy and seamless access to charging infrastructure and related services throughout the European Union. Standardisation is seen as a key factor for a fast and cost-efficient European roll-out of electric car infrastructure.
Speaking at the launch, ESB Chief Executive Padraig McManus said, “The aim of this project is to bring together the best technologies and academic research in order to develop a sustainable transport system that finds acceptance among the driving public. It is an integrated European approach to deploy electric transport, including vehicles, infrastructure, grid, IT applications and user acceptance.”
As well as contributing to the overall project objectives, the Irish partners have the specific responsibility for developing the design criteria for electric vehicle charging networks; fleet management of electric vehicles and studying the connection and construction techniques for charging points. More advanced charging systems are being developed as part of the project and some of these will be field trialled in Ireland.
The four-strong Irish consortium will work together to conduct research and studies into national electric car use and the different technologies that can be deployed to maximise sustainable transport methods.
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ESB pays dividend of €77 million
The outcome provides a framework to ensure that ESB can meet its commitments to the pension scheme on a sustainable basis, while protecting the income of pensioners, and the future pensions of existing staff. The impact of these changes is reflected in the exceptional charge of €330 million in the financial statements.
While delivering continued growth in investment, ESB maintained a strong balance sheet with total assets growing from €9.5 billion to just over €12 billion, cash generated from operations increasing to close to €900 million and gearing of 52%.
Net debt increased from €2.2 billion to €3.9 billion during the year, largely as a result of the acquisition of NIE.
ESB's ongoing Performance Improvement Programme continued to drive cost reduction and performance efficiency throughout the company. Close to €100 million of savings were successfully delivered in 2010. The Programme is designed to further improve the competitiveness of the company through reducing the cost base by €280 million by 2015, with a targeted 20% reduction in payroll costs.
ESB's ongoing investment in its Networks infrastructure has led to one of the safest and most reliable electricity systems in the world. This investment also facilitated the connection of over 1700MWs of wind and would permit the introduction of smart metering and electric vehicle technology with significant energy efficiency potential for all customers.
The modernisation of ESB's generation portfolio continued through 2010. The commissioning of a new gas powered station at Aghada, East Cork, the completion of the Environmental Retrofit Project at Moneypoint, Co Clare, the growth in wind generation capacity to 235MW and further investment in Britain all demonstrated ESB's continuing investment in its sustainable generation business.
The Chief Executive said “In 2010, we put in place arrangements for full deregulation of the residential electricity market, including the name change of our Supply business to ESB Electric Ireland. The company also prepared for it's entry to the gas market. We are all aware of how difficult 2010 has been for business and for the individual customer, and we have responded to the situation by offering competitive prices and services.
“After almost 85 years, ESB continues to play a lead role in the provision of critical infrastructure and services to the State.
“In 2010 and 2011 we have negotiated over €700 million in long term fixed rate borrowings, and a €2.5 billion revolving credit facility. ESB's balance sheet and financial strength remain solidly grounded”
NIE reads additional 280,000 meters
NIE
TWENTY-TWO NEW meter readers have been employed to read all Keypad meters on a quarterly basis.
Around a third of customers in Northern Ireland have a Keypad or pay-as-you-go meter. As these customers do not receive a bill, meter readers would not normally call at their homes. However, as new suppliers enter the electricity market in Northern Ireland, network computer systems need to have accurate readings to enable customer switching.
These 280,000 meters will be read on a quarterly basis and this has required the change and redeployment of a large number of meter reading routes.
Tom Doran, Metering Manager at NIE, said, “All affected customers have been contacted to advise them that a meter reader will now be calling at their home. We were concerned that this change would see a rise in bogus callers to people's homes so we have been working closely consumer groups and the PSNI to make them aware of this change. NIE is part of the PSNI's QuickCheck scheme which is a freephone number which people can use to check that the caller is genuine.”
