Mellett: Ireland’s best answer to Russian power is renewable energy

Europe needs to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons, and Ireland can help it by providing offshore win, according to the former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces

Mark Mellett, former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces: ‘There’s a remarkable opportunity for Ireland around the development of offshore energy’. Picture: Bryan Meade

Ireland’s best means to counter Russia’s influence on Europe is through focusing on renewable energy, according to Vice Admiral Mark Mellett (Retd), the former Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

Mellett told the Business Post that Ireland could play a key role in ensuring Europe’s energy independence and this would be far more effective than joining Nato or abandoning the nation’s policy of neutrality in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

“Strategic autonomy is ...