Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014
333. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the proportion contributed by wind energy towards overall energy and electricity bills for the country on an annual basis since 2000; the total savings to the Exchequer in terms of savings on imports and fines Ireland would have otherwise had to pay in terms of carbon emissions over the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26791/14]
View answerThe primary support mechanisms for renewables, including wind farms, are the Alternative Energy Requirement schemes and the Renewable Energy Feed-In-Tariff (REFIT) schemes. These schemes were introduced to incentivise the development of renewable electricity generation capacity necessary to allow Ireland to meet its target of meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable generation by 2020. This target must be achieved in order for Ireland to meet its binding obligation of 16% of total energy demand to be met from renewable sources by 2020.
The Alternative Energy Requirement (AER) was a series of 6 competitive tender schemes to support new renewable generation that were run to the mid 2000s. REFIT is based around 15 year Power Purchase Agreements between generators and suppliers which provide developers with the necessary certainty required to finance their projects. Both AER and REFIT are funded from the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy. The PSO levy is charged to all electricity customers. It is designed to support the national policy objectives of security of energy supply, including through the use of indigenous fuels (i.e. peat), and the use of renewable energy sources in electricity generation. The proceeds of the levy are used to recoup the additional costs incurred by suppliers in sourcing a proportion of their electricity supplies from such generators.
The estimates for how much subsidy is funded by way of the PSO levy for each year since 2003 are published in the annual PSO decision by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). While the bulk of subsidies for renewable electricity generation paid under these schemes have been for wind, the CER has initiated a project to generate a report on the annual and cumulative costs to date in relation to AER and REFIT support schemes for each technology supported. The table presents the costs for both AER and REFIT since 2003 (the 2003 figure for AER is cumulative from the year 2000):
|
Year |
AER |
REFIT |
|
- |
€m |
€m |
|
2013/14 |
-8.0 |
51.1 |
|
2012/13 |
7.1 |
47.5 |
|
2011/12 |
0.7 |
35.8 |
|
2010/11 |
13.5 |
29.7 |
|
2009/10 |
24.3 |
39.8 |
|
2008/9 |
-58.4 |
24.4 |
|
2008 |
0.4 |
- |
|
2007 |
-29.9 |
- |
|
2006 |
0.2 |
- |
|
2005 |
12.3 |
- |
|
2004 |
16.1 |
- |
|
2003 |
6.6 |
- |
In Decision CER/13/168 of 31 July 2013, the CER has calculated the payment by customer category for the levy period 2013 - 2014. This is approximately 1.25% of a typical domestic electricity bill ex. VAT. This Decision is available on the CER website.
Analysis is being undertaken by my Department, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, EirGrid and the CER to further assess the costs and benefits associated with achieving 40% renewable electricity generation in 2020, compared to a scenario where renewable electricity remains at 2013 levels. This ongoing analysis will inform a report to be published shortly, and builds on existing work in this area such as the recently published SEAI report on Quantifying Ireland’s Fuel and CO2 Emissions Savings from Renewable Electricity in 2012, which found that the value of the fossil fuels not consumed in the Republic of Ireland in 2012 as a result of renewable electricity generation is estimated at €245 million, with the value of avoided CO2 emissions being a further €15 million.
