Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2014
153. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of the intergovernmental discussions on the development of wind energy for export; if all work on this project has now ceased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44710/14]
View answerFollowing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation with the UK Government in January 2013, a joint programme of work was undertaken to consider how Irish renewable energy resources, onshore and offshore, might be developed to the mutual benefit of both Ireland and the UK.
Economic analysis conducted on the Irish side clearly indicated that, under agreed policy and regulatory conditions, renewable energy trading could deliver significant economic benefits to Ireland and the UK, as well as being attractive to developers. However, given the economic, policy and regulatory complexities involved, and some key decisions that the UK side were not in a position to finalise, delivery by 2020 of renewable energy trading is not now a realistic proposition.
In the context of a European Internal Energy Market, it would appear that greater trade in energy between Britain and Ireland is inevitable in the post-2020 scenario.
