Vol. 433 No. 5
118 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the extent to which use will be made of the ALTENER programme to increase research and development in renewable energies as part of the recently announced CO2 abatement strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As mentioned in the CO2 abatement strategy, it is anticipated that the ALTENER programme will assist in the development of renewable energy sources in this country. The measures provided for in ALTENER range from defining standards to establishment of an international information network. They do not include pure research and development work but do provide for pilot actions, studies and training and information activities which will be of value in this country. Four Irish projects with a total value of almost 800,000 ECU have been submitted in response to the Commission guidelines for projects in this first year of the programme. A decision on these is expected in the autumn.
