Written Answers Nos 97-102
97. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if it is proposed to include in an intergovernmental agreement between the Government and the British Government on the export of electricity a commitment that all electricity generated above that required to meet this State's 2020 target will be exported to assist the UK in achieving its target. [53206/13]
View answerIreland has the capability to achieve its national targets for renewable electricity from onshore renewable generation alone, with capacity to spare. This means that, under the co-operation mechanisms outlined in Directive 2009/28/EC, there is potential for projects of scale both onshore and offshore that are aimed at export markets. It is in this context that the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Mr. Edward Davey MP, and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation. That Memorandum sent a strong signal of our shared interest in developing the opportunity to export green electricity from Ireland to Britain and will result in completion of consideration of how Irish renewable energy resources, onshore and offshore, might be developed to the mutual benefit of both countries. The Department of Energy and Climate Change in the UK has published a response to its Call for Evidence on Renewable Energy Trading earlier this year. In that document it concluded that it was not possible to make plans for statistical transfer at this stage and noted that it was therefore exploring physical trading. The Intergovernmental Agreement is therefore dealing specifically with projects built under the co-operation mechanisms outlined in the Renewable Energy Directive, and in the first instance joint projects. The amount of energy to be procured by the United Kingdom is among the matters to be addressed ahead of signing any Inter-Governmental Agreement. An agreed programme of work is already underway so as to prepare for the Inter-Governmental Agreement. This work programme includes economic analysis, addressing policy and regulatory questions and dealing with grid issues. There are very complex engineering and market issues to be teased out but the ambition is to settle on an Inter-Governmental Agreement in early 2014. In advance of this it would be premature to state an export quantity.
98. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on whether the 2007 target of 500MW per year to be generated by ocean energy will be met. [53257/13]
View answer101. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding the draft offshore renewable energy development plan. [53312/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 101 together.
Ireland has one of the best offshore renewable energy resources in Europe. Cost effective harnessing of the potential of this sector will be crucial to reducing our dependence on expensive fossil fuel imports, creating a low carbon energy system and delivering jobs in the green economy.
My Department is currently finalising an Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP), with a view to publication early in the new year. Informed by the findings of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), the OREDP will identify how best to coordinate action across the environmental, energy and economic development policy areas in order to realise Ireland's abundant offshore renewable energy potential, using both offshore wind, and emerging ocean, renewable technologies.
Given the current state of readiness of ocean energy technology, the projections previously outlined for the sector to 2020 will not be achieved. Globally, the industry is at the pre-commercial stage. However, recent years have seen progress, including by indigenous developers, of some promising wave technology devices. While the sustainability and security of supply benefits of ocean energy will ultimately accrue to Ireland, with the right investment and support strategy, ocean energy also offers the potential for significant growth and employment in the medium to longer term. By investing in the early stages of the development of the sector, which will be a key deliverable of the forthcoming OREDP, a significant part of the value chain, with its associated employment benefits, could be captured.
99. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding paying Government payments through An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53297/13]
View answerOperational matters and the role of developing commercial strategies for the post office network are a matter for the management and Board of An Post and one in which I have no statutory function. As shareholder, however, I have a strong concern in relation to the ongoing commercial position of the Company and I regularly liaise with the Company in this regard.An Post has many strengths and has the largest retail presence in the country. I have been supportive of its attempts to diversify its income streams and to win a wider range of commercial contracts offering higher margins. Having invested in the computerisation of all post offices, An Post is well positioned to become the front office provider of choice for Government and financial services sector. In the context of the public sector transformation agenda I will continue to engage with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to consideration, as appropriate, of the post office network for transactional elements of the business of Government Departments and Agencies. I have stressed to my Government colleagues that the network is ideally configured for over the counter transactions. Any such developments would, of course, need to be subject to public procurement requirements as appropriate.
Overall, I see a strong future for the network by using its existing strengths to remain a significant player as a front office for Government services.
100. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if under the memorandum of understanding between Ireland and the UK on wind energy, Ireland will forfeit all its claims to the carbon credits created by the proposed wind farms on cutaway bogs in the midlands; the persons that will be given ownership of such credits; if there is a time limit to any agreement on carbon credits under the memorandum or is it open ended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53310/13]
View answer102. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the memorandum of understanding between the UK and Ireland on the export of wind generated electricity to the UK; if a detailed draft has been agreed; if this memorandum will be made public; the date of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53313/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 102 together.
Under Directive 2009/28/EC (the “Renewables Directive”), each Member State has been assigned a legally binding individual target for the development of renewable energy that they must achieve by 2020. The Directive provides a mechanism whereby renewable energy produced in one country cannot only be exported to another but can also be counted towards meeting that other country’s 2020 national renewable electricity target.
The United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Mr. Edward Davey MP, and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation on 24 January 2013. The MoU is publically available on my Department's website.
That Memorandum sent a strong signal of our shared interest in developing the opportunity to export green electricity from Ireland to Britain and will result in completion of consideration of how Irish renewable energy resources, onshore and offshore, might be developed to the mutual benefit of both countries. An agreed programme of work is already underway so as to prepare for the Inter-Governmental Agreement. This work programme includes economic analysis, addressing policy and regulatory questions and dealing with grid issues. There are very complex engineering and market issues to be teased out but the ambition is to settle on an Inter-Governmental Agreement in early 2014. A key objective, from an Irish Government perspective, is to realise the potential for investment, jobs and growth. The amount of energy to be procured by the United Kingdom, the sharing of the renewable energy credit, including the quantity and duration, and the mechanisms for sharing the resultant economic benefits, including an appropriate return to the Exchequer, are among the matters to be addressed ahead of signing any Inter-Governmental Agreement.
