Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 November 2015
563. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the targets for electric vehicle usage here for 2020; and how close Ireland is to meeting its targets for overall EV usage including public transport and for private EV usage. [41220/15]
View answer568. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the estimated reduction in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions if Ireland meets its 2020 targets for electric vehicle usage, both including and excluding public transport. [41491/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 563 and 568 together.
The 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. In order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand, 12% of heating and 10% of transport power from renewable sources. Ireland aims to meet its renewable transport target mainly through the use of sustainable biofuels, with increasing usage of electric vehicles also making a contribution.
Ireland's third National Energy Efficiency Action Plan to 2020 estimates that approximately 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) could form part of the transport fleet in 2020. However, the extent to which electric vehicles are adopted in the short-to-medium term will depend on a range of factors including, inter alia, the strength of the economy, the overall numbers of new cars being purchased, the cost of purchasing and running electric vehicles compared to fossil fuel comparators, and the number of different electric vehicle models available to purchase. There are signs that these factors are improving and in 2015, 541 EVs have been supported through the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme which represents over half of the total of 1,076 supported since the programme began in 2011.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, who administers the Electric Vehicle Grant Scheme, estimate that the current fleet size is now 1,100 EVs, which will provide an annual saving of 864 tonnes CO2. 50,000 EVs operating today would deliver annual CO2 savings of 39,000 tonnes compared with the today's new fossil fuel equivalents.
