Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
79. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide details of any subsidies or grants available to private companies seeking to establish wind farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27876/13]
View answer507. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide details of the subsidies or grants available to private companies seeking to establish wind farms. [26648/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 507 together.
The Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff scheme, known as REFIT, has been designed to incentivise the development of wind powered electricity generation in order to ensure that sufficient new renewable electricity generation plant is built to enable Ireland to meet the legally binding target of 40% of electricity coming from renewable sources by 2020.
The REFIT scheme is now in its second round. REFIT 2 received EU State Aid approval in January 2012. Under this approval a total of 4,000 MW can be supported under REFIT 2. The scheme is open to wind generation constructed between the start of 2010 and the end of 2017 and is based on a fixed feed in tariff mechanism. The current reference price per megawatt hour for onshore wind is as follows – €69.23 for installations above 5 MW and €71.66 for installations equal to, or below, 5MW.
REFIT operates by offering minimum guaranteed prices for up to 15 years, thus providing certainty to project developers of a minimum price for electricity exported to the grid over that period. The initial capital outlay for new renewable projects is significant and the certainty provided by REFIT assists developers in securing the necessary funding.
To date, REFIT schemes have supported the building of over 1700 MW of wind generation capacity. This has made wind energy the largest driver of growth in renewable electricity, contributing most towards the achievement of the 2020 target. However, if we are to reach that target, the build rate of onshore wind farms must accelerate from an historic average of 180 MW per year to at least 250 MW per year. It was for this reason that I decided to amend the terms of REFIT 2 to extend the closing date for applications to 31 December 2015, with projects required to be built by the end of December 2017. Support under REFIT 2 cannot exceed 15 years and will not extend beyond the end of December 2032.
