Tuesday 1 April 2025
A seminar on Ireland’s energy future will discuss how regulation and infrastructural challenges in energy are negatively impacting economic growth in Ireland.
Taking place on Wednesday, 2 April and hosted by Engineers Ireland’s Energy, Environment, and Climate Action Division, The Merging Energy Landscape – A Pivotal Shift in Industry to Address the Carbon Budget Challenge Seminar, will also highlight the challenges businesses face to reduce emissions, the pressure on industry to meet targets, and the impact on the environment and economy if we fall short.
Speakers at the seminar will include Ciara Ahern, senior lecturer of Building Engineering, TU Dublin, and Peter Lantry, Managing Director, Ireland, Equinix a global data centre provider.
According to Ciara Ahern: "The future of smart buildings lies in their ability to act as flexible demand assets within our evolving energy systems. Yet, there is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be. This seminar will explore how emerging guidelines, scalable solutions, and digital infrastructure can enable buildings to participate in energy markets—reducing carbon emissions and enhancing grid resilience while facilitating greater penetration of renewable energy."
Equinix owns 268 data centres globally, including four retail colocation facilities and 2 xScale facilities in Dublin. Peter Lantry will discuss the need for Ireland to address existing barriers to further digital investment if the country is to avoid missing crucial economic opportunities. “Ireland, especially Dublin, has successfully attracted digital services companies, including data centres, over the past 40 years. The challenge now is how to keep pace with other tech nations amid energy distribution and supply issues that have deterred data centre development, which impacts Ireland’s economy.”
Additional speakers at the seminar will include Conor Minogue, Senior Executive at IBEC, discussing the business case for meeting climate action targets, and Heidi Duffy, Operations Environmental and Sustainability Manager at Iarnród Éireann, sharing insights on the challenges and solutions to the transition to sustainable public transport.
This event will take place in Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Tickets are available here
The seminar will be divided into three sessions, each comprised of presentations followed by a Q&A panel.
Welcome: Dave Linehan, Energy, Environment and Climate Action Division
Opening Address: Damien Owens, Director General, Engineers Ireland
Session 1: The Emissions Squeeze - Trends, Pressures and Consequences
Chair: Orla Coyle, Head of Energy & Sustainability, Savills
SEAI's latest Reports and Trends on Energy and Emissions: Dr Lee Carroll, SEAI
Emissions Overshoot Impacts – Environment, Economy & Society: Prof Barry McMullin, DCU
ESG Triple Bottom Line – Pressure on Firms and the Business Case to Meet Climate Action Target: Conor Minogue, IBEC
Session 2: What the engineering profession needs to do – Technology Trends
Chair: Bernice Doyle, Power sector decarbonisation specialist, Net Zero Energy Ltd.
EU Perspective on Energy out to 2050 meeting Reductions and maintaining Economic Competitiveness: Ciarán Cuffe, Green Party
Carbon Dioxide Removal – Technology and Products: Prof Don Mac Elroy, UCD
The Role of Hydrogen in Long Duration Energy Storage: Paul Cullen, ESB
Session 3: What the engineering profession needs to do – Efficiency and Reduction
Chair: Denis Kelly, Post Graduate Researcher- Engineering Capability for Net Zero Economy
LEUs Efficiency and Demand Response Capabilities: Peter Lantry, Equinix
Sustainable Transport – The Irish Rail Case Study: Heidi Hopper-Duffy, Irish Rail
Smart Buildings – Opportunities and Trends: Dr Ciara Ahern, TU Dublin
Closing Remarks: Keelan Keogh, Policy Officer, Engineers Ireland
Event Closing Remarks: Siobhan McHugh, Director, Energy and Utilities Consulting, PWC