Energy Efficiency - Environmental Commitment

Mission

Bord Gáis supports a balanced energy policy, recognising the crucial role and growing role for sources of renewable energy in Ireland. We believe in building an increasingly sustainable energy supply business. Our sustainable efforts include investments in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Bord Gáis Energy recognises the importance of further investments as part of its strategy to become an all-island dual-fuel energy supplier and established a dedicated business unit to identify pursue and execute projects and investments that could facilitate the provision of clean, safe, reliable and competitive energy to its customers. Bord Gáis pursues only those investments that it believes can ultimately deliver better value to its customers and we are committed to developing our own source of energy products so that the organisation can manage and control energy costs in an efficient manner.

Our Achievements to Date Since 2006, the Bord Gáis Investments team has successfully brought a portfolio of acquisitions to different stages of progress.

Our Goals

We are focussed on an energy asset development strategy in line with the Bord Gáis company strategy. The business unit is built on three key strategies;

1.
 Competitive - We develop assets that can support a competitive offering to our customers.
2.
 Secure - We provide security of supply solutions to the Irish energy customer.
3.
 Sustainable - We contribute to a sustainable energy vision.

Wind Farms

Windfarm

Bord Gáis has set ambitious renewable energy targets for the future. We are committed to providing a sustainable energy product to our customers and we are actively pursuing a portfolio that reduces the carbon footprint associated with our customer supply portfolio. The company's goal in renewable energy reflects and supports the Government's targets of 40% of energy produced by renewables by 2020. It is envisaged that wind energy will provide the largest source of renewable energy to achieve these targets.

Long term investment in the development of Irish wind generating capacity is a cornerstone of the Bord Gáis investment strategy and we are committed to ensuring Ireland maximizes the benefit of one of its most precious indigenous resources - the wind. Bord Gáis Éireann (BGÉ) has successfully acquired SWS Natural Resources which is the largest independent wind generator in Ireland. The company is based in Bandon, Co. Cork and employs 50 full time equivalent staff. It has a total installed and operational capacity of 179MW, 208MWs of Gate 2 projects, 103MWs of Gate 3 projects and 149MWs of Northern Ireland projects in addition to some 179MWS of Gate 4 projects.

These projects form part of a balanced portfolio of power generation plant that will help us to meet our current and future customer electricity requirements. This acquisition is an important step towards meeting our strategic goals in relation to renewable energy and will increase our share of renewables to 30% by 2012.

Our operating wind farm in Sorne is already providing over 20,000 homes with green energy annually. Bord Gáis currently has 38.9MW of wind power installed in Sorne, Co. Donegal and over 100MW in the development pipeline due to be fully connected by 2014.

Greener Ideas Ltd

Windfarm

In February 2009, Bord Gáis acquired a 50% interest in Greener Ideas Limited from Mountside Properties. Greener Ideas Limited was established to act as a development vehicle for the installation of a number of Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) projects located in Ireland.

The OCGTs are flexible gas-fired power plants and to date, planning permission has been obtained for sites in Athlone, Kilkenny and Cahir.

These plants have the capability to generate approximately 400 MW of power when complete and the locations of these developments have been strategically chosen to support the growth in wind-powered electricity generation in Ireland.

The OCGTs will be designed to the highest standard ensuring high efficiency, low emissions, low noise and with minimum environmental impact.

Greener Ideas envisages job creation in the local area during both the construction and operational periods.

Whitegate IPP

Powerplant

In 2007, Bord Gáis Investments started construction on a €400 million state of-the-art 445 MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant at Whitegate, Co. Cork.

The plant will be able to achieve efficiencies of up to 58% which will ensure customers can rely on competitive energy from an environmentally sound conventional power generation facility.

The primary objectives of the plant are to support the Bord Gáis duel fuel energy offering, increase the installed capacity for electrical generation in Ireland by May 2010 and reduce the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions per Mega watt (MW) of electricity generated through the operation of a highly efficient plant, thus contributing to Irelands obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.

The output of the plant can provide power for up to 400,000 homes and will be the base platform from which Bord Gáis Energy sources and supplies electricity to the Irish market for many years to come.

The project has provided the local economy in Whitegate, Co. Cork with around 300 jobs since development commenced in 2007.

Further details on the WIPP construction programme are available below:
Click here to download the WIPP project brochure.