Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2024
178. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent of the shift away from fossil fuels for the generation of electricity; if this is in line with targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3680/24]
View answer179. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which the national grid currently relies and draws on renewable energy as a percentage of total requirement; if he has in mind any specific new proposals in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3681/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 179 together.
Ireland is a world leader in renewable energy with now approximately 4.8 GW of wind generation capacity and over 1 GW of solar PV capacity installed bringing to over 6 GW of clean, indigenous renewable energy.
The recently published CAP 24 reaffirms our ambitious targets of 9 GW of onshore wind, 8 GW of solar PV and at least 5 GW of offshore wind connected to the grid by 2030. To support this, a suite of measures are being developed to maximise the use of renewable energy and its integration with the electricity grid.
According to provisional data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), on average 46.1% of electricity generated in Ireland in 2023 was renewable. For an overview of renewable electricity usage, I refer the Deputy to the SEAI's monthly electricity production figures: www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/monthly-energy-data/electricity/ .
