Characteristics of Enlightened Transition

Government Policies

• The security of Ireland’s energy supplies is put ahead of immediate low energy prices. The IDA recognises that while the low-energy cost approach was appropriate in an energy abundant world, a guaranteed energy supply at a predictable price is a better strategy in an energy scarce one.
• The government negotiates long-term, fixed price supply contracts with oil and gas producers. This enables it to let energy-users know what prices they will have to pay in the future.
• In 2006, Ireland catches up with the rest of the EU-15 and introduces a feed-in law which offers an attractive fixed price for the next 15 years to anyone able to supply electricity from renewable sources to the national grid. Eirgrid is mandated to take this power. Net metering is introduced to encourage households to install small wind turbines and PV panels which supply power to the grid when it is not required for the household’s own use. (Net metering means, essentially, that the electricity meter runs backwards when the household has a surplus of power)
• Every building constructed after 2008 has to be built to ZED (i.e. Zero fossil Energy Demand) standards. In other words, the developers have to show that it can be lit and heated without the use of fossil energy and that its location will still be appropriate when the cost of transport, and running a car becomes very much higher than at present.
• No new contracts for major road-building projects or airport expansion are awarded. Instead, congestion charging is introduced where it is necessary to limit road or runway use and the proceeds are used to improve bus and rail transport.
• Fiscal measures are brought in to encourage compact settlement development including land value taxes and increased betterment- based development levies.???
• Except where there are acute skills shortages, the recruitment of labour from outside the EU ceases.
• Public pension investment policies change to favour local renewable energy development.
• Tax incentives comparable to those for property in the 90s are introduced to encourage private and community investment in local renewable energy.
• Eirgid is directed to begin the transformation of the electricity grid to a distributed system.??

The Business Sector

• Business starts to make decisions on the basis of steadily rising energy costs if they are buying power, and steady rising energy prices if they are selling it. Some energy-intensive manufacturing operations close. Others, such as Auginish Alumina, develop wind farms and only fall back on fossil fuels when the wind is not blowing. The closures are offset by expanding firms meeting the demand from the renewable energy sector.
• Helped by government research contracts, Irish firms set out to develop and export new energy saving/generation technologies
• Air travel becomes steadily more expensive. The tourist sector reacts by offering longer-term activity and special interest holidays rather than weekend breaks.

Household

   *  All houses now have smart metering which allows for variable pricing of electricity
   * Devices attached to appliances can be set to run when a certain price band is reached so the less urgent tasks wait for the lowest prices and their is also a "I need it and I need it now" button for urgent tasks!
   * Many have battery backup which not only provides electricity if the power goes off, but can be charged when the price is low and used when the price is high.
   * Some apartments have shared facilities such as washing machines
   * The standard of insulation and draught-proofing in homes countrywide now rivals Sweden
   * Homes now require 50% of the energy to run them that they did in 2005.  This is though efficiency gains and people keeping their homes cooler.
   * High energy tasks now carried out when power is cheap rather than when it is convenient.  Washing when the wind blows.