I propose to take Questions Nos. 146, 189, 254 and 255 together.
Biomass energy offers potential for Ireland to develop indigenous energy supplies from renewable resources, thereby contributing to security of supply, lowering emissions and providing alternative sources of income for agriculture, forestry and waste management sectors. It also has the potential to provide a source of low cost energy across all sectors of the economy.
Ireland is still at a relatively low level of deployment of biomass energy, and in December 2003 my Department, in association with SEI, set up a bioenergy strategy group, BSG, to consider the policy options and support mechanisms available to Government to stimulate increased use of biomass for energy conversion. Membership of the BSG comprised representatives of various Departments as well as State agencies in the agriculture and energy sectors and industry representatives. The findings of the bioenergy strategy group are being considered by the renewable energy development group in the context of overall policy recommendations and will be considered carefully.
We are already making progress, particularly in integrating biomass into Ireland's heating infrastructures. The biomass sector has attracted the largest amount of support under Sustainable Energy Ireland's renewable energy research, development and demonstration programme. Among the specific projects addressed to date are: a combined heat and power system, using sawmill residues at Grainger Sawmill in Cork; a 100 KW wood chip and pellet boiler at Coillte's headquarters — this 100% sustainable, timber constructed building has incorporated solar and wood heating systems into a purpose built energy centre that is open to the public; a 500 KW wood boiler and solar panels at Inchadoney Lodge and Spa hotel in Clonakilty, County Cork; a 100 KW wood chip boiler at Camphill Community, Jerpoint, County Kilkenny.
SEI recently published details of a further funding programme in 2005 for biomass boilers. Funding for biomass energy has also been made available for a range of projects under the EU Leader, LIFE and INTERREG IIIA programmes.
The biomass technologies supported under the AER process include biomass — landfill gas, biomass-anaerobic digestion and biomass-combined heat and power and a total of 20.204 MW from biomass landfill gas projects has been commissioned to date. Three further biomass CHP projects, 26.8MW, and ten biomass AD projects, 2.022MW, were successful in AER V6. In April this year I announced that I was changing the renewable energy support mechanism from competitive tendering to a fixed feed in tariff mechanism. In September I announced the support prices for different technology bands, including general biomass price support.
The new fixed price tariffs are: large wind energy, over five megawatts — 5.7 cent per kilowatt hour; small wind energy, under five megawatts — 5.9 cent per kilowatt hour; biomass — landfill gas — 7.0 cent per kilowatt hour; hydro and other biomass technologies — 7.2 cent per kilowatt hour.
Nine other member states have chosen feed in tariff as the preferred mechanism to support biomass electricity, including those with the highest market penetration of biomass. The detailed draft terms and conditions of the proposed feed-in support programme were posted on the Department's website, www.dcmnr.gov.ie, in draft form, on 29 September last and interested parties had until 12 October 2005 to raise any queries or to furnish any observations on the proposals, as published.
The report of the renewable energy development group is expected shortly and will form the basis of my future policy decisions on the increased penetration of renewable energy technologies, including biomass, in the electricity market and will seek to ensure that developers can make a reasonable rate of return on renewable energy projects while ensuring that the interests of national competitiveness and the ultimate burden of cost to the final consumer are all fully taken into consideration. In July my Northern counterpart, Angela Smith, MP, and myself published a preliminary consultation paper on an all-island vision for renewable energy to the year 2020 and beyond. The consultation period recently ended and the response has been very encouraging. The aim is to develop a long-term strategy for renewable energy on the island as a whole.