"Green" policies are destroying this country

When they promoted diesel over petrol due to lower CO2 emissions, ignoring the far more harmful pollutants created by diesel.

To encourage one type over another is promoting the former - by definition

There has been no great leap forward in hydrogen production, it's either made from gas or electricity both incuring significant conversion losses.

It cost more to burn peat for electricity than any other fuel. That is why it was always subsidized. It made barely any useful contribution to the grid. It was a job creation scheme from the start and those were the most expensive jobs on the state.

What exactly is going on? Toyota's lobbying? Hydrogen for cars is logistically dead on arrival. For aircraft and trucks it might make sense. Electric cars are unlikely to be a component in any forthcoming electricity shortage (the great Chicken Licken moment of 21) given they charge at night when there is a surplus of electricity. All the ESB has to do is create a bigger price differential and maximise the rate at 18:00 - 20:00 when grid demand is greatest.

See. The Greens never promoted Diesel cars ever. They promoted public transport and alternatives. The biggest issue for the Greens are the core group of people that will deliberately misinterpret everything and every policy they set. And it call comes down to not want to pay even the tiniest price. The irony being that once green policies are bedded in most people have no problem about it... e.g. plastic bags, smokeless fuels etc.

They did, in the VRT change in 2008. Even Ryan had good things to say about greener cars.

Also from IT in June of that year!

Ok that would have been fine years ago when the demand in Ireland was from towns/cities and some industry.

Now the major demand is data centres and they do run 24/7 365 days a year, unlike the wind.

I live in area that can experience a fair amount of wind and trust me it is not windy 24/7 or thankfully anywhere near that.

Oh and when it does blow it can often blow a lot.

BTW has anyone factored that into the thinking, the fact that turbines can only safely operate up to certain wind speeds?

Renewables don't cut it at the moment so realistically we have to look at nuclear.

Oh and planning for wind farms and wave installations if they become realistic should be fast tracked for public benefits.

Grants should be given for private users to use wind and/or solar to cut private power demand.

Hell they could charge their cars at same time.

Data centres are not worth it, don't provide huge number of jobs and are total power drain.

They are equivalent to golf courses and water usage in countries like Spain.

One thing I would like to see work done on is harnessing data centres heat for other uses.

You can't compare a diesel refill with a battery recharge and if you don't realise that then....

And you will need huge battery capacity and much better batteries to allow a tractor run for say 16 hours which could happen in peak harvest times.

And the suggestion by someone about three phase power to farmyards is no fooking use either.

Tractors operated away from farmyards can now easily be refilled from dedicated fuel bowser or tanker, hell even from drums, wheras what do you do with tractor with flat battery a mile from the yard.

Also what do contractors do?

Or maybe we should look at a plan where 70% of our energy needs are supposed to come from renewable sources where that renewable source is to all intents and purposes wind power, and realise that when the wind drops our only alternative is importing nuclear generated energy from France.

As someone said earlier, we have already shut down two biomass generating plants and are now looking at rolling blackouts this Winter if just one plant is off-line for maintenance. And this when just around 30% of our energy needs comes from wind power.

I have no problem with alternative energy sources. What I do have a problem with is all our eggs being placed in a basket where their usefulness to the national grid is dependant on how the wind blows,

Did someone tell you that diesel tractors won't be available any more?

The major demand on the grid is not data centers, not even close. This narrative has crept into the media lately and it's just not true.

Building more wind farms still won't solve the problem if there's no wind in the first place.