Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2024
84. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will provide details of the increase in the amount of electricity being generated from onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and other renewables respectively in 2023; the research being carried out in the State in respect of harnessing wave and tidal energy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11069/24]
View answerLeaving aside the historical hydroelectricity that we produce, in more recent years most of the increase in energy has been onshore wind. This is very good. What increase have we had in relation to onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and other renewables in 2023? What research is going on in respect of tidal and wave energy? If these could be harnessed, they provide a very interesting source of energy with a higher reliability than onshore or offshore wind.
I am glad to report to Deputy Ó Cuív that last year was a very successful year for renewable electricity in Ireland. According to figures published by the SEAI renewable sources accounted for an average of 46% of the electricity generation in Ireland last year, which was an increase of over 9% on the 2022 figure. Ireland now has more than 6 GW of renewable electricity generation capacity. Wind, particularly onshore wind, remains our largest source of renewable power. It accounted for 39% of all electricity generated in 2023. With approximately 4.8 GW of wind generation, Ireland is a world leader in the level of installed wind energy capacity per capita, as well as in the integration of variable renewable electricity onto the grid. Solar generation is rapidly growing, with more than 1 GW now installed. This is a major increase on the previous year. It is a near thirtyfold increase. Solar generation is highly complementary to wind generation and increased solar capacity will help Ireland to generate clean electricity all year round.
The SEAI provisionally estimates that electricity emissions in 2023 were 23.5% lower than in 2022. This figure will be finalised in the coming months by the EPA’s greenhouse gas inventory. The upcoming offshore renewable electricity future framework policy statement will contain several actions on the potential for ocean technologies. The SEAI is developing an offshore renewable electricity technology roadmap to 2050, due for publication in the coming months, which will inform future directions for State research and policy on harnessing wave and tidal energy in Ireland.
The Minister did not give me the figures for the increase in 2023 in the amount of electricity being generated from onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and other renewables, respectively.
It is a very specific question. The challenge is to have a year-on-year increase. The Minister is going to tell me there has been a big increase in solar energy last year. That is great news. I would like to get the figures. It frustrates me when I table a parliamentary question in which I specifically ask for data that must be available and I do not get a specific answer on the data requested. The Minister might give me the data on the increased electricity generation from each of the sources.
To give some of the figures, wind accounted for 39.5% of our power. That was some 9%-----
No, it is the increase.
It is 9% year on year.
For wind.
Yes. Hydro is 3%-----
What is the increase?
Last year, we had very high water levels. Typically, it is close to 2%. As a result, there was a 50% increase in hydro. As I said, this is because the water volumes were very high. For solar it was 1.4%, which was a 30-fold increase. It was an increase of 3,000%.
Can we get the exact figures?
I do not have the exact figures.
Can you get them and send them to me, as the question asked?
Those figures will bear out, I am sure-----
The data I was looking for-----
The figures are provisional. It requires the EPA to the do the final greenhouse gas inventories.
I am not going to argue about the-----
Deputy Ó Cuív can come back in again
I want to make the point that it was a very successful year, partly because it was very windy and because solar is now coming onstream. This is only the first year it is coming onstream. Approximately 100 households are having solar panels put on their roofs each day. We are putting them on every school. We have 600 MW of solar in fields and 400 MW on rooftops. This is not stopping; if anything, it is accelerating. It will increase. We have a further 2 GW of solar in the field which has already been through the auction process. This number will jump. We are going towards 80% renewables by the end of this decade. The big question is how we tap into ocean energy and turn it into an industrial opportunity. I will have to be upfront and honest and say that I am a great supporter of wave and tidal energy. They are probably more medium and longer term. The immediate opportunity is in offshore wind and there again we had a very successful auction system last year with 3 GW of offshore wind. We are going to go further south and west as we develop this resource.
I look forward to getting the detailed information as requested in the question. I will not come back on the Minister if there proves to be slight tolerance required or inaccuracies in the reply. My question is on wave and tidal energy. My understanding was the research on wave energy is ongoing. Ten years ago or more, Wavebob was carrying out tests in respect of wave energy in Galway Bay. The Minister's answer seems to indicate we have not even got this far. Are we going backwards on wave energy? My understanding is that it is much more consistent than wind. In other words, waves die down slower than the wind can die down and, therefore, it gives more consistent power than wind energy. I know that offshore is better than onshore because it a little bit more consistent. There is more wind offshore. My understanding is that wave energy would be even better again to overcome the peaks and troughs that are inevitable with renewable energy and how we use it. The crème de la crème, if we could harness it, would be tidal energy because it is twice a day, totally predictable and absolutely guaranteed.
I remember it was longer ago, 14 or 15 years ago, when the likes of Wavebob and OpenHydro, really good Irish companies, were deploying in the seas. It is something we massively supported in our previous time in government, along with Deputy Ó Cuív and others. We are continuing this. The SEAI is developing a marine energy test site west of Belmullet, which will go out to the Atlantic to seek carry out further testing in a harsher environment than that found in Galway Bay. We see this as having potential.
We have to be honest and upfront also. OpenHydro is probably the best energy company I have seen, dealt with and worked with. Unfortunately, the technology ran into difficulties which require further iterations and improvements. Similarly, with Wavebob it is not that we are giving up but it is a harsh environment. It is difficult to generate electricity in a marine environment. I absolutely commit to investing and supporting it. The reality and truth is that in the immediate future it is offshore wind that will provide the very large scale of volume. It is where the technology has developed and evolved. It is part of our ocean marine research investment future.
