Daniel Murray’s ESG newsletter: ESB chief Paddy Hayes talks net zero goals

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Since taking over as chief executive of ESB over two year’s ago, Paddy Hayes has had his hands full.

Speaking to me for a rare sitdown interview, he said that “the future is electric and a lot of the decarbonisation solutions are around electrification. So when you look at the purpose of our organisation, there is a real opportunity to make a difference."

Hayes offered an insight into how ESB will change to bring more offshore wind and solar on stream, as well as more complex services and technologies that will be just as important in achieving the energy transition.

Chief amongst those are grid-scale batteries, with ESB launching the largest commercial battery project in Ireland at Poolbeg in Dublin last month.

But battery technology will only take ESB so far, and at best will offer a number of hours worth of electricity.

So if the company is to reach net zero by 2040, how will it ensure it has a stable baseload of low-carbon and instantaneous power, which is currently done by gas turbines?

Hayes was blunt.

“We don’t fully know the answer to that. But there has to be an answer. It is something we have to solve now so we can implement it in the 2030s so we can get to net zero by 2040. That isn’t just a challenge for us, it is a challenge for all systems," he told me.

While more electricity interconnection, greater demand side flexibility, and even using the power storage capacity of plugged in electric cars will all play a role in reducing the need for stable gas power, ultimately a replacement for gas is needed.

Cracking the code of zero-carbon and instantly dispatchable power generation is among the biggest ambitions of energy engineers around the world.

ESB certainly want to play their part in making it a reality, but as Hayes outlines, it will be a challenge.

Thanks for reading,

Daniel Murray

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Third annual PwC Business Post Sustainable Business Awards

The PwC Business Post Sustainable Business Awards has been confirmed for its third annual edition on the 21st of March 2024, recognising leadership, innovation, investment and ingenuity in the areas of Environment, Social and Governance ( ESG ).

Past winners of the awards include An Post, Bus Eireann, Bord na Mona and University College Cork.

We are very pleased to note the growing momentum of our Sustainable Business Awards Showcase events, which highlight the best practice found at winning organisations, and provide a network and inspiration to those seeking to become our next award winners.

David McGee, PwC Ireland ESG Leader, said the awards “celebrate best in class Irish businesses across a wide range of ESG categories that invest in and promote sustainable practices, innovation and leadership. The categories, entry process and deadlines can be found at www.sustainablebusinessawards.ie

For further information contact Chris Flood at the Business Post: cflood@businesspost.ie