The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive sets Ireland a legally binding target of ensuring that 16% of all energy consumption is to be from renewable sources by 2020. This target has to be achieved across the transport, heating and electricity sectors.
This target, like all targets assigned to other Member States is challenging and the Government's priority is to meet these 2020 targets in the most cost effective and economically sustainable manner possible.
To achieve this overall 16% target, Ireland, as set out in its National Renewable Energy Action Plan, intends to achieve 40% in the electricity sector, 10% in the transport sector and 12% in the heat sector, which together make up the requisite 16%.
According to the provisional figures from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), at the end of 2011, 6.5% of all energy consumed in Ireland was from renewable sources, up from 3.1% in 2005.
In terms of 2011, 17.6% of electricity consumed is provisionally estimated to be from renewable sources, with 40% required by 2020; 3.6% of transport energy was from renewables, with 10% required by 2020; and 5% of our heat energy was from renewables with 12% required by 2020.
While good progress has been made, the challenges in achieving the significant increase required in the next 8 years are not to be underestimated.
EirGrid's latest data indicates that at the end of 2011, Ireland had about 1900MW of renewable generation on the grid. The latest modelling undertaken by SEAI indicates that, provided we achieve our energy efficiency targets, capacity of around 4000MW of renewable generation will be required on the system to deliver the 40% renewable electricity target by 2020.
Through its DS3 programme, EirGrid is working to deliver the necessary operational changes to the grid to ensure that system security and stability are maintained while catering for significantly increased amounts of intermittent renewable generation.
In addition to meet the challenging domestic renewable energy targets, Ireland is exploring with the UK the possibility of renewable trade under the framework of the cooperation mechanisms provided for in the Renewable Energy Directive. This could lead to significant exports of wind electricity to the UK in the future. I recently met Minister Hendry as part of a series of bilateral meetings on developing a formal Memorandum of Understanding by the end of the year.
SEAI has estimated that the increase in electricity generation from renewable sources has displaced fossil fuel imports resulted in primary energy avoided by 6,613 Gigawatt hours in 2006 to 12,431 Gigawatt hours in 2011. SEAI has estimated that this has saved €968 million in avoided fossil fuels imports over the past five years.
