Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2015
36. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if and how he will encourage semi-State companies such as Bord na Móna, Coillte and the Electricity Supply Board to promote renewable energy generation as part of the White Paper on energy policy. [44985/15]
View answerAs I will not be going forward for re-election, it is safe to say I will not be asking questions of the Minister again in the Chamber. I take this opportunity to thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the Ceann Comhairle, the Minister, the Minister of State and the former Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, as well as Department staff for their co-operation.
Thank you.
We have had differences of opinion but at all times I have tried to ensure that I was speaking to the issue and not to the person.
There are a number of issues about which I feel passionately and sometimes that passion might have spilled over into impatience. One of the first things I said when I put questions to the then Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, was that I felt that the Government had no energy strategy or policy. There was a document with the word "strategy" on it, but it was not really a strategy. As a result, I fully supported the Government when it decided to come up with an energy strategy. I am looking forward to seeing what is included in the White Paper tomorrow and would love to have a sneak preview of it tonight. One essential feature of such a White Paper which sets out the Government's vision for the future is the role semi-State bodies such as Coillte, the ESB and Bord na Móna might play in future energy policy because they have a great role to play in energy generation from renewables.
I thank the Deputy for his comments.
I also thank the Deputy for his comments and wish him well. My engagement with him has been always very satisfactory and I thank him for his unfailing courtesy. He has always addressed the issue, not the man, for which I thank him.
The Government has supported a range of policy measures and schemes to incentivise the use of renewable energy, many of which have been successful in encouraging a shift towards using more renewable energy by semi-State companies, including Coillte, ESB and Bord na Móna. The renewable energy feed-in tariff schemes support the development of a range of renewable electricity technologies, including hydro, biomass combustion, biomass combined heat and power, landfill gas and onshore wind. These schemes are open to all interested parties, including relevant semi-State companies.
The ESB has a long history of successfully delivering hydro power, made significant progress in divesting much of its older inefficient thermal plants, is building its renewables portfolio based primarily on wind energy and has established an investment fund tasked with sourcing, evaluating and executing appropriate investments in technologies with breakthrough potential in renewable energy generation. I also welcome the company's commitment to decarbonise its generation activities by 2050.
Bord na Móna is also making good progress in the renewable energy space and I understand the company is aiming to develop wind farms on land that was previously used for peat production. I was pleased to see in October this year that Bord na Móna published its Sustainability 2030 report, which outlined its plan to replace its use of large-scale peat production with alternative energy sources, including biomass, wind and solar energy by 2030. Many of the technologies identified in the report will be eligible for support under the new renewable support schemes under development by my Department. It is also important to note that EirGrid and the ESB are co-ordinating effectively to ensure the timely connection of increasing levels of renewable generation from all interested parties on the national electricity grid.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
My Department is in the process of designing a new renewable heat incentive scheme to encourage an uptake of renewable energy in the heat sector and also working on the introduction of a new renewable electricity support scheme. Both new schemes are expected to go live at the end of 2016, subject to Government approval and state aid clearance, and will be open to all interested parties.
In the transport sector it is my intention to continue to support the deployment of sustainable biofuels through increases to the biofuels obligation scheme. The first such increase will take effect on 1 January 2016. The scheme has successfully incentivised an uptake in the use of biofuels in Ireland in both the semi-State sector and the private sector and will continue to do so.
In October 2014 my Department published a draft bioenergy plan in which a number of actions were outlined specifically designed to support the uptake of renewable energy. The draft plan contains measures to stimulate and support the supply of Irish biomass in the coming decade. In this regard, the key recommendations include continued support for the afforestation programme, the continuation of the bioenergy scheme for energy crops and the establishment of Bioenergy Ireland, a joint venture between Bord na Móna and Coillte. The energy White Paper which I intend to publish tomorrow will provide the framework for accelerating the development and diversification of renewable energy generation.
There is no doubt this nation faces a huge challenge following the agreement in Paris to pursue efforts to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It is about more than the semi-State companies using renewable energy. In addition, I thought that there would be a co-ordinating and leadership role and that they would share their expertise in exploring different forms of renewable energy. Will the White Paper address the issue of community energy co-operatives? I know that the Minister is talking about the energy citizens concept, but it can be nebulous. The community energy co-operative is very specific, working in other countries and means that the citizen can buy-in and there is immediate benefit from renewable energy developments. Will the Minister consider the semi-State companies having such a co-ordinating or leadership role and the potential of community energy co-operatives in reaching the targets to which we agreed in Paris?
The Deputy is right. The ambition underlying the Paris agreement calls for considerable change across the world, including Ireland. We have made decisions and are required to make more to ensure we can credibly decarbonise the economy, which is the objective. The issue of community energy co-operatives will be addressed in the White Paper. I agree with the Deputy that there is enormous potential in that regard. I again agree with him on the need for co-operation between semi-State bodies. He will be aware of the establishment of Bionergy Ireland, a key action in the draft bioenergy plan. Coillte is under the aegis of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. While I do not have any role in its governance, a steering group that includes representatives of the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Agriculture, Food and the Marine, newERA and my Department is working on the Bionenergy Ireland plan which, as the Deputy is aware, involves Coillte and Bord na Móna. I am sure there will be other initiatives also.
I thank the Minister for his reply. It is good to hear his response. I look forward to the White Paper. If the Minister can see his way to giving me a sneak preview of it tonight, I might be able to make a better contribution tomorrow at the official publication.
My final question concerns the role of educational establishments and universities. Has the Minister thought about talking to the educational establishments? This will be a continuing challenge for the next ten, 20, 30 or 40 years and Ireland needs people who are trained to maximise the benefits of renewable energy generation. Will the Government and semi-State agencies talk to the universities to make sure the education sector will meet the challenges of tomorrow?
It sounds as if the Deputy has already had a sneak preview of the White Paper because the role of the education sector, research institutions and the universities will be critical in the energy transition. We need excellent research in order that we can direct and have a plan in place to decarbonise the economy that will involve the State at its best in giving leadership and the funding of research in new areas such as the smart grid, into new products or ways of organising our renewable energy portfolio. The research institutions will be central to that process in which innovation will be critical to the transition to the decarbonisation of the carbon. The Deputy is right. We have very fine institutions such as Beaufort Research in Ringaskiddy, County Cork which does amazing and critically important work, as well as people in Galway and UCD who are researching integrated energy systems. Publicly funded research will be at the heart of the job we need to do.
I understand it has been agreed that Deputy Catherine Murphy will ask the next question in the name of Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly.
