asked the Minister for Energy the cost of erecting an electric windmill on Inishere, Aran Islands, County Galway; if it has operated efficiently; and if there are any further proposals to develop wind-charged electricity generators at other locations.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Aran Island Wind Machine.
11.
The wind machine on Inis Oirr is the largest of six machines, the purchase and installation of which were funded by my Department, to investigate the wind potential in a number of locations and the suitability of particular machines for Irish conditions.
The purchase cost of the Inis Oirr machine was £95,513 and the engineering design and installation cost a further £77,220. The cost of maintenance and data monitoring since installation has also been funded by my Department.
The machine has not operated efficiently other than for short periods. The basic objective of the experimental demonstration project on Inis Oirr was to test the feasibility of providing up to onethird of the island's power requirements by a wind machine of this size and design. So far the machine has not maintained a level of performance which would justify the conclusion that this objective can be achieved, within reasonable limits of reliability, by current wind machine technology. The remote location of this machine and the fact that many repairs cannot be carried out locally has added to the maintenance problems. Faults arising have, of course, been repaired under the manufacturers guarantee. Since completion of the project in February 1982, our engineers and the suppliers have been continuously improving the control mechanism of the machine with a view to obtaining greater reliability. The project has been very materially assisted by the help and understanding afforded by the people of Inis Oirr and the co-operative there.
An experimental demonstration programme such as this is, by definition, intended to test the feasibility of the concept and the suitability of equipment and to that extent significant and recurring problems may be expected. However, even allowing for this, it is clear at this stage that there must be significant question marks about the suitability of available wind machines for the conditions which obtain in exposed, isolated locations in Ireland. Any proposals for the installation of further wind machines must await more experience of the existing demonstration programme and, I believe, further research, development and perfection of the available machinery. I intend, however, to pursue the present demonstration programme for which a grant of up to £158,000 has been awarded to my Department by the EEC towards the cost of continuing the programme for the next two years.
Will the Minister of State give the House some idea of the maintenance costs attached to this project since the outset?
I do not seem to have that figure available on my file but I will give it to the Deputy later.
Will the Minister tell the House if what has occurred on Inishere was the case in the other areas where the windmills were located? Will the Minister agree it is extraordinary when one considers that during the war years electricity was provided in this manner that 40 years later it appears that little advance has been made in this way of generating electricity?
Of the wind machines erected in Ireland in the last three years only six were funded in their construction from my Department's renewable energy budget. There have been problems on and off with the machines. I am not greatly encouraged by the present state of the art in that we do not seem to be getting a very efficient return in terms of energy from the machines. I should add that we are at an early stage. We are pursuing a demonstration programme which we must assess in some years time. We will be in a better position then to understand the viability of such machines.
Who manufactured this machine?
Is the Deputy referring to the machine on Inishere?
Yes.
It is an NEI windmatic wind-turbine generator.
Where are such machines made?
It is a Danish machine.
Deputy Gallagher asked whether the other machines are as bad as the one under discussion and I should like to know if that is the case.
No, not as bad. This is a particularly difficult one. It is the largest one we have in operation and is in a very exposed part of the country. It has suffered more than the other machines.
There is no shortage of wind there.
Perhaps we should use some of the hot air from the House.
It would be shattered completely then.