The research will help accelerate technology innovation and drive the energy transition to reach Ireland’s carbon targets.The collaborative projects with CONNECT and ADAPT will have clear benefits for society in tackling the climate crisis. Each project will run for 18 months.
The partnership with CONNECT, which will be led by Professor Marco Ruffini, focuses on harnessing the extensive data available from the electrical grid, encompassing energy sources, demand, and predictive models. The project will then explore the effects of providing Large Energy Users (LEUs), such as data centres and pharmaceutical plants, with accurate, market-based data models to optimise energy demand.
The partnership with ADAPT focuses on the efficient generation and distribution of Guarantee of Origin (GO) certificates, which verify that a unit of power was produced from renewable sources. The research will address the current challenges in the GO certification market, including the lengthy processing time, and exploit technologies such as blockchain to explore more efficient mechanisms for real-time generation and distribution of GO certificates, enhancing transparency and ensuring timely consumption by green energy users.
Increased energy demand has led to the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, resulting in higher generation costs and increased carbon emissions. To combat these challenges, ESB has been focusing on integrating renewable energy resources to bridge the demand-supply gap.
This article was first published on 25 March by Trinity College Dublin.