“Getting Big Things Done – Transforming Ireland’s Energy System, with special guest Professor Bent Flyvbjerg”

14/06/2025

On 13^th June, Trifecta Ireland hosted our inaugural event, Getting Big Things Done – Transforming Ireland’s Energy System, with special guest Professor Bent Flyvbjerg. Professor Flyvbjerg shared practical insights on how we can deliver the major programmes needed to secure a clean, reliable and affordable energy future – on time, on budget, and with real public benefit.

Some key takeaways from the session included:

• “Think slow, act fast”: Strong delivery starts with careful planning and early experimentation. Rushing into implementation without thinking things through often leads to delays and costly fixes later.
• “Build big from small”: Large systems work best when they grow from smaller, proven parts. Modularity reduces complexity and risk – a vital approach for scaling up infrastructure like wind farms and grid upgrades.
• Create a Flywheel: Ireland needs stable policies and clear demand signals to attract investment and build momentum. Government must act as both starter and steward of the energy transition, providing the frameworks and incentives to keep the flywheel spinning.
• “Super scaling only happens with exponential growth”: Delivering at the pace climate goals demand means designing projects and programmes that can scale easily. If something can’t scale, we need to rethink it.

This event marks the start of an ongoing conversation about how Ireland delivers on its energy ambitions. As Professor Flyvbjerg put it: “All the major problems we need to solve as a species can only be solved if we manage our megaprojects better.” How we deliver will shape what we achieve.

If you missed the session, or would like to revisit the discussion, you’ll find a short summary attached here. Trifecta Ireland will publish a white paper this Autumn, setting out the next steps to shaping a shared, system-wide delivery response.