Ireland gets a bit greener with funding from Europe

DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The Irish government said it's breaking new ground on renewables now that funding is available to support a large-scale energy storage project.

The government said it secured roughly $350 million from a program set up by the European Union. The Horizon 2020 program from the EU is aimed at accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy by facilitating research and development in renewable energy fields.

Irish Minister for Climate Action Denis Naughten said the RealValue energy storage facility was one of the major recipients of EU funding. That research project aims to store the energy generated by renewables.

"It is the first large-scale testing of this game-changing new model for renewable energy storage, and will be instrumental in developing business models to quantify the potential of small scale energy storage moving forward," the Irish government said in an emailed statement.

By 2050, Irish national guidelines call for renewable resources to overtake fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions tied to the Irish energy sector would fall to zero by the end of the century under the scheme. All European member states are obligated to use renewable energy to meet 20 percent of their energy needs by the end of the decade.

Carlos Moedas, the European commissioner in charge of research and innovation, said European partners need as much support as possible in order to reach a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

"We have no time to waste," he said. "We need concerted action both in Europe and globally, across a broad range of sectors, to mobilize public and private investment in breakthrough technologies for our common good."

Ireland's was among the nine signatures added to a declaration signed by members of the European Union that share a border with the North Sea. The members agreed that closer cooperation in avenues like grid connectivity could advance regional developments for offshore wind.