Vol. 521 No. 4
77 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise an féidir léi dul in ngleic leis an éileamh ar oileáin a bhfuil suíomhanna oiriúnacha do mhuilte gaoithe acu le ceadúnas pleanála faighte agus tacaíocht áitiúil ón bpobal ach atá gan forbairt ar nós Oileán Chléire agus Oileán Bhéara agus nach mbeadh bunú muilte gaoithe ar oileáin níos saoire ná muilte a lonnú amach san fharraige idir an dá linn. [17341/00]
My Green Paper on Sustainable Energy, published in September 1999 provides for an increased target for additional renewable energy based electricity generating plant to be installed in the period 2000-05 from 186 megawatts to 500 Mwe. This must be achieved on the most economically efficient basis possible. The target will be met by means of additional competitions under the alternative energy requirement programme and direct sales of green electricity to final customers under the accelerated liberalisation of the green electricity market provided for in the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999. I see my task as creating a regulatory environment for good projects to flourish.
There may be opportunities for development of renewables on offshore islands under both of these mechanisms. However, it is a fact that proposals from locations such as Bere and Cape Clear islands face obstacles. For instance, access to the national grid presents particular difficulties. In relation to offshore developments, these are likely to be developed on a large scale, thereby achieving economies of scale unavailable to island and small scale projects. This is particularly pertinent to grid connections.
