Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2020
734. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the degree to which he continues to promote carbon reduction policies including the generation of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources; the extent to which non-fossil fuel sources currently supply the national grid as a percentage of total electricity production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8193/20]
View answerThe Climate Action Plan sets out how Ireland will achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and cut emissions by 35%, and put Ireland on a trajectory consistent with net zero carbon emissions by 2050. A key part of the Plan is a move to 70% renewable electricity by 2030 through, inter alia,:
- at least 3.5 GW of offshore renewable energy
- up to 1.5 GW of grid-scale solar energy
- up to 8.2 GW of onshore wind capacity
The Plan includes a number of actions to deliver this target, including regulatory streamlining of renewables and grid development; development of the offshore renewables sector, implementation of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS); and development of an enabling framework for micro-generation.
The Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) have calculated that at the end of 2018, 33.3% of electricity demand was met by renewable sources.The provisional figure for 2019 is 36.6%.
